BOSTON—It's one thing to talk about workers with disabilities.

It's another to be one.

Both happen to describe Heather Abbott, an HR professional whohad part of her leg amputated as a result of the Boston Marathonbombing attacks.

Abbott, a SHRM member, spoke to about 500 HR professionals at the Society forHuman Resource Management's diversity and inclusion conference inBoston about her experience learning to live with adisability.

"Even before I became a person of disability, I was advocatingto hire people of color, women, veterans and people of disabilityfor my company," Abbott said. "But becoming disabled myself changedmy perspective significantly."

On April 15, 2013, Abbott was among the bystanders watching themarathoners cross the finish line. The second bomb blasted her intothe entrance of a nearby restaurant and tore off the heel of herleft foot. Faced with the prospect of a lifetime of agonizing painor allowing doctors to amputate her left leg below the knee, shechoose to live as an amputee.

Abbott, who continues to work in HR part-time, has since createdthe Heather Abbott Foundation, which develops prostheses for thosewho lose limbs during traumatic events.

"When I lost my leg, I was afraid of what would happen to mylife," she explained. "I was very lucky that people — mostlyveterans — came to visit me and they showed me that my life wasgoing to go on and I didn't have to give up anything I lovedbecause of my condition. With the help of other survivors andveterans, I was able to do what I wanted — paddle boarding, runningand even wearing high heels. I was able to do things I loved beforeeven though it was really difficult."

She told the crowd about a coworker with multiple sclerosis whowas dropped off at the office and then worked 12 hours a day in theoffice because his disease prohibited him from driving himself.Abbott said she never understood why he didn't take it easy andlimit work hours or even stop working altogether. That is, untilshe experienced her own disability and understood that people whosuffer disabilities often want to try to live the life they hadbefore the disability.

"[After my experience], I truly understood him for the firsttime," she said. "He didn't want to give up his life like it wasbefore."

Problems often arise in the workplace, though, because both theemployee and the employer don't communicate effectively aboutwhat workers with disabilities might need to most effectivelycontinue their job duties.

She urged HR professionals to communicate often, and to expandtheir way of thinking and accommodate the needs and wants of thosewith a disability.

"We need to recognize that people are different; that we are alldifferent in that we don't know what we don't know, and we need toaccommodate them as best we can."