Toni Furmanski walks the runway at the DSW Inclusive Runway Redone Show on Sept. 4. The show was hosted by Hunter McGrady, showcasing 10 women from more than 4,000 submissions.
A Bellevue woman was chosen from more than 4,000 submissions to participate in an all-inclusive runway show in New York City.
Toni Furmanski was one of 10 women selected to attend the DSW Runway Redone fashion show in September .
Furmanski, a Bellevue West High School graduate and amputee, said the fashion show was important to her to showcase women from all backgrounds.
The Tuesday when Furmanski arrived, the women had a workshop with model Hunter McGrady and Kechi Okwuchi, a musician.
“They chatted with us a little bit not only on body positivity, but their experiences with the fashion industry, their experiences with how they became confident and stay confident,” Furmanski said.
“It was a lot of fun. I didn’t know what to expect at a fashion show, but I feel it was very relaxed.”
Furmanski was born without a femur bone, and had her right foot amputated when she was 13 months old.
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Though she once struggled with her disability, Furmanski now embraces it and is positive about her experience.
“Now, I’m so comfortable with being an amputee, and it took a long time,” she said. “That’s one of the things I want to push for, is normalizing disabilities and see more people who have a disability in media, whether that’s in movies or in print, anything, just living an everyday life.”
To promote body positivity and talk about her disability, Furmanski runs an Instagram page with more than 8,000 followers and a lifestyle blog, anneandkathleen.com.
“To me, body positivity isn’t just about feeling good about yourself — that’s more self-love,” she said. “To me, the body positivity movement is just talking about respect for people’s bodies who are different than the norm and what society has said is beautiful.
“It’s speaking out and saying that all bodies are beautiful no matter what.”
Anne and Kathleen was named after Furmanski’s grandmothers, who have always been her biggest inspirations.
“Both of my grandmothers are very strong women — my grandma Kathleen is one of my best friends and she grounds me, and whenever I have issues, I go to her,” she said. “My grandma Anne passed away when I was younger, so I don’t have as much personal experience, but stories I’ve heard about her, she just was strong and did what she needed to do for her family.
“I have people in my family who have done strong things, and it makes me continue to do those things.”
One of the most memorable moments from the fashion show was when she and the other participants talked about fitting in and participating in a fashion show.
“It was impactful to hear that from different women,” she said. “It was an absolutely beautiful experience sitting with other winners from different backgrounds.
“It’s something I don’t know if I’ll ever forget.”
Furmanski said the biggest message she hopes to send to people who view her blog or social media is kindness.
“No matter if you’re talking about disabilities, body positivity, if you’re talking about societal standards, I just feel like people just need to be kind,” she said.
“I may have a disability, but it doesn’t mean I’m doing anything different from anyone else. I live a relatively normal life, and I think there’s a misconception that somebody who has a disability is living life completely different than somebody who doesn’t.”
A roundup of inspirational stories from Midlanders with heart
There's the woman with MS who runs despite her diagnosis. The 7-year-old born without his left hand who plays baseball just like the other kids his age. The refugee who turned to Zumba to help her recover from cancer treatments. Check out their inspiring stories and others below.
Oliver Henderson plays first base waiting for some action. Without a left hand Henderson is able to adapt to the world of baseball.
Libby DiBiase runs in a 14-pound vest during a workout at CrossFit Kinesis in Gretna. This Omaha police officer uses CrossFit to keep in shape for her unpredictable job.
Jeff Strufing enjoys being able to help people during group classes at Kosama. Despite his cancer diagnosis, Strufing hasn’t let it change his lifestyle. The 46-year-old business owner, husband and father of two still works part-time as a paramedic and teaches weekly classes at three gyms. He’s done it all while undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
Margie Irfan practices bicep curls during her workout at Life Time Fitness. Iftan entered the world of bodybuilding when she was 46 years old. The Omaha woman has lost 10 percent of her body fat while maintaining the same weight — and she’s got the toned muscles to prove it.
Jack Mallett practices his tennis skills at Miracle Hill tennis courts. After deciding to quit drinking Mallett, 92, made tennis his addiction.
Michelle Graft runs on the Wabash Trace in Council Bluffs to train for her portion of the MS Run the US relay. Gaft who has MS uses running to keep the symptoms at bay.
Mary Manhart works out at the Downtown YMCA four times a week. She sees the people at the gym as her extended family.
Hadeel Haider started to exercise after being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma, and she fell in love with Zumba. Haider now teaches Zumba class at the the Maple Street YMCA.
Melissa Kayser, left, holds Tierney, and her sister Lisa Auten, right, holds Ashlynn. Kayser had complications having children and her sister volunteered to carry children for Kayser and her husband.
Nancy Nygren works out at least three times a week to help keep off more than 65 pounds that she lost a decade ago. “She’s the perfect example of somebody who has lost a significant amount of weight and has done it the right way,” said Jennifer Yee, who leads Nygren’s boot camp class and is also an instructor in Creighton University’s exercise science program.
Tom Carney does a workout during kickboxing class. Carney used to work out so he could eat whatever he wanted. Now he understands diet is just as important as exercise.
Rik Zortman runs the name of children who have died of cancer. He has ran the name of more than 250 children since his son's death in 2009.
Katie Chipman, a 12-year-old gymnast with juvenile arthritis, practices at Airborne Academy. Chipman works to hard to compete and only misses practices if her symptoms are too severe.
Joe Reisdorff and Dan Masters grew up in the same town, attending the same church were never close until Reisdorff needed a new kidney and Masters was a match.
Jacob Oswald forgot he signed up to be a bone marrow donor until he got a call saying he was a potential match for a Nebraska baby. He went through with the procedure and more than a year later, met with recipient Alle Jilg.
A workplace accident left Leah Nixon paralyzed from the armpits down. As had to work on becoming more independent, she also worked on reconnecting with an old love: outdoor adventures.
Still recovering from a heart transplant, Rick Ganem wouldn't be able to make it to his daughter Sarah's wedding. So she brought the ceremony to his hospital room.
Since starting her weight-loss journey, Keasha Hawkins-Moore is closing in on dropping half of her starting weight — 500 pounds. During that journey, she's battled cancer, lost loved ones and strengthened her faith.
Leota "Lee" Brown suffered a stroke and two days later, the 98-year-old was back to her spunky self at home in an assisted-living facility. She's required no therapy since the stroke.
Harley Swanek had been living with an undetected heart condition for the first seven months of her life. It caused her to become unresponsive for more than 30 minutes, leading to a brain injury. Harley's back home and relearning all of her milestones.
