Amputee Stories Part 3

Hello There!
Amputee Stories Part Three

Gary Peterson
Hello and greetings from the new kid on the block. I have been on the internet for about 3 months now. I've been a lurker on this list for about a month.

I have multiple disabilities in that I am blind and c-p since berth. In December of 92, I was severely burned in a fire that resoled in the amputation of both my legs bellow the knee. The recent discussion as to the pros and cons of prothstetics has been very interesting to me. In my case, because I use a wheelchair and sit for long periods of time, I was told that using any kind of an artificial leg would probably not be in my best interest. They said because I sit the way I do, that a limb no matter how light weight would probably put extra weight on my stumps and cause me a lot of discomfort.

At first, I didn't think loosing my legs would be a big deal. Being blind and C-p never was because it was the only thing I knew. except for swimming, I didn't use my legs all that much anyway. Or so I thought.

After loosing them, I suddenly remembered all that stuff I took for granted over the years. Stuff like using my foot as a last resort to push open a stubborn door. Or being able to transfer in and out of a car, or on and off a toilet seat.

So for the first time in my life, I feel disabled. There are days when I really have to work at keeping myself a float mentally. But being on the net is a big help!!There's a lot of support out there in cyber space.

While I'm a very strong activist, I don't endorse one particular group over another. instead I choose to work to see that all those with disabilities get their fair shake. There are those who are blind that want nothing to do with me because I'm in a wheelchair and There are those in chairs who want nothing to do with me because I'm blind. It makes for an interesting life and I never get bored. Fortunately I have friends on both sides of the fence to help me keep things in proper prospective.

I should let you all know that my spelling and grammar skills are not the greatest. In school, I got most of my materials either read to me or on tape. Do to my C-p braille was and still is very time consuming. When I write offline as I'm doing now, I have the luxury of being able to use my spell checker. But when I'm on the net and sending or replying to a message, anything goes. I use Pine for my mail, and I hear there's a way to spell check, but I don't know how to use it yet. So I ask for your patients with my some what choppy messages, and please feel free to tell me when I'm not being understood.

Thank you for being here and I look forward to interacting with you all on an on going bases. Thanks again,

Ken Schubert
My name is Ken Schubert. I am a double AK amputee. I lost my left leg to peripheral artery disease eleven years ago, and my right leg two years ago for the same reason. I am presently confined to a wheelchair, but am being fitted for "stubbies" in order to strengthen my muscles so that I may graduate to fully operational prostheses sometime later. (This may be optimistic since I am 73 years old.)

During my years as an amputee I have worked with a number of local support groups for physically disabled persons. Like the young lady from the UK, I find two classes of people in these groups: older people who have lost their limbs due mostly to disease, and younger people whose loss is caused by accidents. There is a profound difference in their attitudes toward their disabilities and their outlook on life. The youth, with characteristic energy, face their problem head on and are optimistic about their ability to regain/maintain a near "normal" lifestyle. On the other hand, the elderly, with little help from the rehabilitation world, slowly deteriorate and quietly fade away. I would like to comment, therefore, on the rehabilitation process particularly as it concerns the older amputee.

I've been through our regional rehabiliatation center located in Pensacola, Florida twice. Both times I spent most of my time on the physical aspects of the transition from the hospital environment to the home environment. This was depressing because my physical training was in company with stroke and head injury patients. Sessions with bored and generally incompetent counsellors were a waste of time. The one good thing the center did was to teach me how to drive a car with hand controls after I had become a double amputee.

A check of Internet sources indicates very little on medical rehabilitation. There appear to be a lot of programs devoted to helping disabled persons to develop computer access to information. And there are plenty of programs relating to AIDS. But there is nothing on medical rehabilitation for amputees. Can anyone help me with this?

Al Pike
In response to Ian s request about introducing ourselves I will begin by replying that I have been a prosthetist now for 30 years, eighteen of those years with Otto Bock Orthopedic USA. I have worked in private practice, research, and now as a supplier of components. I have served my profession on numerous committees of the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetists, and the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists, serving as the Academy s president during 1988-89.

As Academy president I appointed the first amputee consumer liaison to the profession, and am a strong supporter of informed consent for amputees. I believe orthotics and prosthetics should be profession biased, and never become a pawn of big business interests.

I have believed in CAD/CAM for over 25 years and see it as a tool to improve the quality of care, but not to be misused to produce high profit production prostheses by unschooled and none caring individuals.

I am concerned about the future for the profession and for the end user. When we realize what has happened it may late to act. We must be informed, vigilant, and proactive now. Become informed then involved you can make a difference.

Bill Dorsey
Here's my introduction. I'm not an amputee, but I play one on TV. Oops, wrong introduction.

I'm not an amputee, but my wife is. Janet (known to those of you who were active in disabled skiing in the 70's as Janet Anderson) lost a leg (hip disarticulation) to cancer at 15, and a lung two years later. When we lived in Colorado, we did a lot of skiing and cycling. Since we moved to Northern Virginia in 1981, we have done no skiing (no mountains) and little cycling (no shoulders on the roads). However, our son is getting old enough to do both, so I think we'll be getting the bikes and boards out more in the near future.

I have done work with the ADA Task Force at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Janet has stayed in close touch with the disability rights community.

Since I'm the only one in the family with net access, the subscription is in my name. However, I'm glad to relay comments, questions and the like (no devotees; Janet hates them) back and forth.

Gloria Patterson
I joined the list a few weeks ago because my husband, John, is a bilateral amputee. We're in our early 50's and married 30 years last week. 2 1/2 years ago John suffered a vascular assault which resulted in his having a right BK and left simes. The doctors never really found the reason, but most probably an adverse drug reaction. He had new prostheses made at Sabolich in the fall, and is very happy with them. We live a very normal life. He works every day at his profession and I am a housewife. We love to travel when we have the time and money. We took our first trip to Europe 1 1/2 years ago. We rented a car and traveled wherever we wanted. I drove and he navigated. Had the the most fun in our lives.

John was never really athletic before, but he does miss being able to snorkel when we go on vacation in the sun. He use to scuba and snorkel when we lived in Pago Pago some years ago, and would like to again. I'm betting this problem can be solved. We'd appreciate any help from the group.

Chris Fries
My name is Chris Fries (pronounced "freeze"), and I am a left hand amputee. I lost my hand 19 years ago on December 19 in a lumber mill accident here in Marquette, MI. I haven't let it slow me down, and I participate in basketball (we won in double OT last night), hunting, trout fishing, scuba diving when I can afford it, tennis, etc.

I teach part-time at Northern Michigan University----a Computer- Aided Instruction (CAI) pre-algebra class.

Robert Katzer
Hi. My name is Rob Katzer, a HIP disartic, and an amputee for 16 years.

I had bone cancer in '78, chemo and surgery. I survive and thrive. I was lucky -- my phantom pain went away relatively quickly (1 year intense, couple of years sporatically, and now only if I do something stupid).

I have been relatively active in amputee stuff for 10 years now. I swim, ski, golf, and kayak. I have scuba dived, sailed and sky dived. All these activities (except the swimming) I did not do until after I became an amputee.

I am the president of the Vancouver Island Amputee Society, which represents 250 amputees on Vancouver Island (in BC). We function as an amputee support group, gather information about what is available for prosthetics, government assistance, advocate on a local level regarding amputee issues and let people know about social and sporting opportunities for local amputees. I am also an amputee visitor, meeting new amputees on the hospital wards and answering their questions.

I enjoy speaking to folks about being an amputee, because if people can understand what it is like, the less likely they are to fear amputees.

The prospects of dying woke me up, and I started to live. You may not be able to do things exactly how you have done them in the past -- but go for it.

I am single, an employee of the British Columbia government and an accountant.

Jill McMahon
I'm an AK amputee working on a Ph.D. in Geological Sci. at the Univ. of Michigan. I do geology on archeological sites. I also like to crawl around in caves. I lost my leg due to a bone infection subsequent to a caving fall, it's a long story... I'm also a closet Canadian.

I have a longstanding problem with phantom pain so stationary rowing is my main aerobic activity. I'd like to try "foot sports" again if the pain sit. improves. Topics of interest to me include all sports-related, job and education-related, phantom pain, the whole gamut.

J. Thomas Andrew
I am an above knee amputee for some 21 years having had an unpleasant encounter with a hit-and-run dirver whilst riding a bicycle down a country highway in Alabama on the 4th of July, 1973.

I am also a practicing certified prosthetist in Salt Lake City, Utah. My company is Ability Prosthetic Systems, Inc. I also offer consulting services to other practitioners.

I have worked with the University of Utah engineers for many years, having helped develop the Utah Artificial Arm and related fitting techniques. I have been associated with the Manufacturer of the Utah Arm for the past 14 years, having fit many upper limb amputees and taught seminars all over North america and Europe.

My practice seems to revolve around Above knee and upper limb prosthetics. I suppose I have some ability with the above knee because of my own situation... I "test drive" many different components so I can make appropriate recommendations for my patients.

While I am a vailable for "official" consultation in person, I offer whatever I might know to this group onLine. I can be reached through the Internet access at aol.com or through Compuserve.

I was chairman of the Upper Limb Prosthetic Society for the past 4 years and now serve as the chairman of the Publicatins subcommittee of that society. We publish a quarterly newsletter that goes out to the 60+ members of the Society and invite contributions from consumers , engineers, etc. to keep the "pot boiling". Feel free to contact me if you have something you would like to submit.

Tuvia Ariel
Hello Amps and amp fans;
My name is Tuvia Chaim Ariel, I am 57 years old have been living in Israel for the last 31 years and a member of our club for over 27.

Three years ago I was I highly literate dyslexic above knee amputee. I own a bookstore and I could not write. Well not spell.

Like many amputees I was an over compensator. Some Ski, run coast to coast or climb mountains. I was for 15 years Israel's one legged Tour Guide.

Israel is between one and two generations behind the forefront of prosthetics. So when I reached the half century mark and retired from active touring I opened my bookstore and devoted myself to bringing modern cutting edge prosthetics to my country.

Three years ago I got an xt computer and learned to write. Then some one heard about the things that I was doing in limb replacement and gave me my internet account. Suddenly I was in instant touch with people I had driven and flown thousands of miles to see face to face.

I joined the amputee list and found a comfortable place to express my innermost feelings. I could further the cause of Israeli amputees while having fun and helping people. About a month before the bombing we were able to set up a prosthetic spare parts bank for children, for instance.

I had my leg off on the 50th year after the Russian revolution to the day Nov. 7th 1967 I got my first really well fitting socket and learned to run in Oklahoma City on the day that the Berlin Wall came down Oct. 9th 1989. Thank you John Sabolich. Thank you Bill Copeland, (a through knee amputee prosthetist who recently moved to Tampa)

My present socket was made in Whitestone Queens, by Mike Joyce who fits Bill Denby BTW I had been on a chair for two years when on a book buying tour to the states I saw a dupont ad on tv Bill Denby. It blew my mind and I knew that if this guy could do that then they were better fit sockets available than I had had access to. So I got me one and now I am trying to bring it back home.

I am a 6'3 and weigh in at between 220 (lean and mean) and 240 (now) I drive an american car with a bench front seat and use a rotator on my Endolite ak rig which gets me into tight places.

My advice to other amputees. Better to be a short amputee than a tall one. better to have 4 limbs than 3. better 2 then 1 better 1 than none. function is beauty. getting there is the goal.
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this page was last updated12/22/04