By
SUSAN FARRINGTON
SANFORD - Amy Dumas, who's lived
"all over, but mostly in the South," began her sampling
tour through life in Atlanta where she graduated from high
school and attended college.
"I studied secondary education
because I'd always wanted to be a middle school teacher.
Somehow, this age that a lot of people consider difficult
has a real appeal for me. These kids are capable for the
first time of learning life's lessons, and I wanted to be
a part of the process."
Being "part of the process" also
meant following her basic instincts and exploring whatever
was out there, so Amy was playing bass guitar and performing
with local bands at the same time. "And, being a spur-of-the-moment
type of person, I decided to take up martial arts as well,"
she says. This is when something clicked - the idea that
fusing a rock star image with a martial arts role could
be a winning combination in the entertainment world - and
education was pushed to the back burner.
The story could have ended here,
either with Amy's successes on stage or a return to her
original objective in the educational field. However, it
detoured when a friend insisted that she watch the wrestling
matches on television. "It was something I'd never done
before, but looking at the performers I found myself getting
really excited and thinking, 'Well, since I'm already far
into studying martial arts, why not make wrestling my next
move?'"
THIS WAS 1998, and a Mexican movement
wrestling style called Luche Libre was all the rage, "something
more acrobatic than regular wrestling," Amy says. "So I
located a school in Mexico City and started training for
the ring." Because what she was doing felt right from the
very beginning, Amy says she worked hard to get noticed
in smaller federations, always keeping an eye on a larger
goal, constantly refining her act and forwarding videotapes
of her matches to World Wide Entertainment.
"Getting noticed is what it takes,"
she says. "It's all a matter of being in the right place
at the right time." The breaks were with her and by November
1999, Amy had scored the big one. In one year, far less
time than it takes most wrestlers to get there, she was
added to the roster of WWE stars as "Lovely Lita." The designation
stuck, although Amy says there was a time lapse before she
got used to the new moniker.
A name change wasn't the only surprise
in store for the pulchritudinous pugilist when she joined.
"Along the way I'd met Matt Hardy from Cameron, when we
were both wrestling in independent shows; and when I got
to WWE, I found he was there as well. Soon we were being
teamed on the circuit, sometimes in a threesome that included
Matt's brother, Jeff. Initially there was nothing serious
between us other than our common interest in wrestling,
which Matt eats, sleeps and breathes.
"However, he recognized my determination
and dedication and respected me for what I was doing and
gradually a strong connection was formed. You can't say
we became an immediate item, but our careers meshed and
we've remained close ever since. We have an 'on camera/off
camera' relationship in a business where illusion is primary
Š where it's difficult to tell the real from the imaginary.
"For us, it's perfect. With two
people who are constantly busy Š on the road three hundred
days a year and regularly performing in fifty three different
countries Š time for outsiders would doubtless have been
impossible anyway." Most importantly, says Amy, their friendship
brought about a big change in Matt's life. "Although he'd
never been a big animal lover, he knew what dogs mean to
me and came to accept that as a given in our relationship."
WITH A SUCCESSFUL CAREER and a
wonderful man in her life, Amy's story appeared to be heading
toward a fairy tale ending at this point. Then her saga
turned into a nightmare.
It was April 2002 when Amy, who'd
been hired to do the season's finale of the Fox TV series
"Dark Angel," was engaged in a colossal fight scene when
something terrible occurred. "The stunt person with whom
I was working dropped me on my head and, although I didn't
realize it at the time, my neck was broken." At first, while
she couldn't lift her left arm, Amy says she wasn't worried
because she could feel movement in her fingers and toes.
"Injuries are very common in wrestling, so I wasn't that
concerned. Just figured it would take a while to get over
the numbness. But, the pain increased instead and after
another examination the doctors determined that I actually
did have a broken neck."
Following this diagnosis, Amy was
flown to San Antonio to go under the knife of a neurosurgeon
noted for working on injured paratroopers. "Suddenly I was
severely limited physically. From exercising in the gym
seven days a week I had come to a screeching halt, and it
was nightmarish."
After surgery Amy was fitted with
a hard collar, which she had to wear constantly for the
next four months. "If my profession had been normal, something
like a desk job, I probably could have been back at work
in a few weeks. Instead, I was housebound and thoroughly
depressed. I'd just moved to Sanford when it happened, and
the only people I knew were my immediate neighbors."
WRACKING HER BRAIN about how to
occupy herself "to keep from falling into an even deeper
depression," Amy thought of what she'd done as a teenager.
"Growing up, my father would never allow me to have a pet
at home. So I'd worked at kennels and pet shops and with
a vet, just to be around animals." After her 18th birthday,
Amy moved away and got her very own dog from the Atlanta
Humane Society. She named him Cody, and they were inseparable
until he passed away in April 2003.
Even though she was wearing the
hard collar, Amy was still doing promotional work for WWE.
"I was making personal appearances and signing autographs
about once every week or two, but I had extra time on my
hands. So I started volunteering at CARA here in Sanford
and at Moore County's new arrival center for animals. I
needed that boost you get from animals, just hanging out
and talking to them, cleaning cages and doing light stuff.
Also, I particularly couldn't stand being alone in the house
after Cody died of cancer."
Bringing another pet into her life
so soon after Cody's death didn't seem an option to Amy,
who was still grieving for her best friend and getting ready
to go on the road as soon as the surgeon gave his OK. "I
go back to San Antonio every two months for check-ups and
to get a new prescription for my activity level," Amy explains.
Although she works out regularly at Nautilus, she says this
can't possibly replicate the pounding that goes on in the
ring. "The surgeon is a great man, who understands what
my professional life means to me," she continues.
"So, instead of telling me never
to go back, he's teaching me to be totally aware of my body
and how to stay on top of any injury that might occur."
SIX WEEKS after Cody's death a
tiny wire-haired Dachshund and Lhasa apso mix pup was dumped
by his former owner at the Moore County Animal Control Center.
It took one look and Amy had a
new best friend, a cunning animal who knew what he wanted
and used his wiles to get it. "I had nothing to do with
it. Mason selected me," Amy confesses. "I call him my little
pocket pet, and he goes every place with me. He loves airplane
trips and thoroughly enjoys autograph sessions where he
shows off like a little ham."
Determining to make use of Mason's
star power, Amy says she decided to stage "a last hurrah
for pets before I return to work full time. It's a local
kickoff for my latest project, A.D.O.R.E. (Amy Dumas Operation
and Rescue), at Aberdeen Lake Park, as a way of strengthening
my bond with the community. We're calling it Lita's ADOREable
Pet Celebration, a celebration to promote animal welfare
and a day of fun for pets and people. There will be a ton
of activities, and all the proceeds will be donated to Carolina
Animal Rescue and Adoption and the Moore County Animal Center."
AMY'S PLATE, which was already
brimming, will soon be even fuller. When she wasn't doing
promotions for WWE or volunteering at the rescue centers,
she was writing a book, "A Lesser Traveled ROAD - The Reality
of Amy Dumas," which will be published by Simon & Schuster
in September. Due date is the 16th, and shortly thereafter
Amy will be on the road for a dual purpose. "My author's
tour is being set up to coincide with wrestling events,"
Amy says. "So that means a fall of travel for Mason and
me. But he loves it, and as long as he's with me, everything
will be fine."
Obviously, Mason is finding that
a dog's life can also turn into a surprisingly sumptuous
banquet.
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