From The Battlefield To 3D Printing with Karolyn Smith

San Diego native Karolyn Smith enlisted in the US Army shortly after 9/11, at 29. Serving as the 'crew-serve' machine gunner Iraq in 2004 as a Military Police Officer, Karolyn sustained injuries from one too many roadside bombs, and would eventually return home to San Diego. Severally under-treated by the VA facility and finding herself on a new battlefield struggling with the crippling effects of PTSD and debilitating pain, Karolyn would be treated with high dose opioids by the VA for almost 5 years, coming dangerously close to being one of the '22 a day' Veteran statistic. Never a woman to back down from a fight, Karolyn set out to find a better answer than the VA, and she found it; UCLA Operation MEND, and in 2015 received a ground breaking advanced bio-tech spinal surgery. The Innovation bug caught her.  Karolyn’s life began anew when she saw Sophia on the San Diego Humane Society's social media page. An abandoned amputee kitten found with her umbilical cord wrapped around her rear paw, alone 8 days old, struggling but not giving up. Karolyn became inspired by Sophia's story that mirrored her own struggle. Karolyn would adopt Sophia and her bonded mate Leo, and embarked on a new quest. With a high threat risk mitigation background Karolyn didn't think she was an Innovator, yet set out and collaborated with Fablab, a Maker space located in San Diego. In 2015 Karolyn with the direction of Fablab created the first ever detachable 3D printed Prototype prosthetic for Sophia. Karolyn would extend her new creativity and unveil "Sophia the Bionic Cat", the children's book based on this amazing journey that is now found in Barnes and Noble and Amazon. The book has yet another innovative marvel as Karolyn used the new "open dyslexic" font so readers with dyslexia can enjoy not just the inspiring story, but the ease of the read on the brain.

www.3pawsup.com, www.facebook.com/SophiaTheBionicCat