SHORT HILLS, N.J. – It’s a message to never give up on your dreams. Amanda Sullivan became the first female amputee in the world to graduate from a fire academy. The Short Hills, New Jersey woman is now officially a firefighter and took to Instagram to share the great news. She has been an amputee for two years and has been using a prosthetic leg for almost a year and a half. “At the end of our lives all of our pain is the same ... and it doesn’t matter what happens to you, it’s how you respond to it,” she said.