then worked at walter reed rehabilitating soldiers who have lost limbs inb the wars in iraq andghnistan afghanistan. . walter reed isn't only america's largest military hospital but also has the world's leading military hospital, it also is the world's leading hospital in treating amputees. i thought that she had just the right mix of compassion and humor. she shared her vulnerability that allowed tremendous empathy with those issues that she was asking so much of a. when she's not working she is also a long-distance swimmer having swum across the chesapeake bay six times. so here she is to talk about her book, run don't walk. [applause] >> thank you for the very nice introduction. i'm going to talk a little bit just about how it happened that i wrote a book and how because i'm sure many of my friends are still in disbelief that this happened and also why i decided to write this book. succumb in 2007 i owned a 17-year-old car that's my friends nicknamed the rustang because the doors were rusted shut and the only way you could get in was to climb through my window but i loved that car and in spite o