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I was touched by a story I reported on recently for Fox16 News at 9.  It was a feature called “Triumph Over Tragedy” and it focused on a Little Rock woman that some of you may know.  Her name is Linda Rowe Thomas.

Linda is a fashion designer and has created some of the most memorable evening gowns in all of central Arkansas.  She has a studio in downtown Little Rock on Center Street and her fashions have graced runways here and throughout the country including several times at the esteemed New York Fashion Week.

Linda has the ability to create intricate details like hand beading on gowns that turn out to be some of the most incredible creations.  She told me she wanted to be a fashion designer for as long as she could remember but didn’t know it was a real job until she was about 10 years old and saw the Diana Ross movie, Mahogany.  In the movie Ross played a fashion designer. But Linda’s initial desire to create fashions was born out of tragedy.  When she was only two years old she was the victim of a fire.  A kerosene heater exploded as she and her six year old sister stood next to it.  Her sister died from her injuries.  Linda was disfigured by the tragedy and over the years told me she has had too many reconstructive surgeries to count.

When she was very young, doctors wanted her to do physical therapy because the explosion left her without fingers on one hand and only a few on the other.  While the young child was resistant — her mother came up with an idea.  She taught her daughter to sew so that she could use her hands.  She started off making little doll clothes and when using her hands became too tough her mother would tell her to “figure it out”.  Linda told me her mother was a driving force in teaching her to master many things with her hands.  Her mother also treated her like any other normal child and held her to the same standards and expectations.  As Linda likes to say – “I wasn’t treated any differently than anyone else”.  That was the key to creating a strong woman who felt she could conquer anything.

And these days she’s doing just that. Linda has gracefully wardrobed people all over the country, from locals to national celebrities.  She has certainly been, and still is a success in the fashion industry, but she tells me she’s no where near being finished.  Her goal is to become a household name – not just through fashion but through books and public speaking.  On any given day – Linda is on Instagram encouraging all of us to live our best lives.  One might think we would be trying to encourage her but she seems to be leading the charge in that category.

I admire Linda Rowe Thomas for setting an example and being a game changer.  So many times we find excuses as to why we can’t achieve our dreams.  At two years old her life and her body was tremendously scarred.  And even though she still has scars today – you forget about them when you hear her speak, realize her body of fashion work and consider the life this mother of two has led.

She expressed her desire to continue her work inspiring other burn survivors through her Designing Hope Foundation.  But she also wants to reach the rest of us because — as she tells it – not all scars are visible.  Some people’s scars are internal and they too need inspiration to triumph over tragedy.