Chuck Bryant
Quick intro: I'm a right leg BKA due to stubborn infection following a 1983 collision (car hit me while I rode my motorcycle). 6-8 months and 3-4 surgeries finally convinced me: this thing wouldn't heal. My master's in Rehabilitiation Counseling FINALLY woke me up when I realized: Elective amputation! It was a textbook case. DUUHHH. And surely enough-- it was absolutely right for me.
I've completed 12 full marathons, probably a couple of hundred 5K, 10K and other races, I'm scuba certified, and have done two parachute jumps. (Obviously my helmet was inferior quality; the crash affected my brain as well.)
Walter McKinnon
My name is Walter McKinnon, and I am a new member to this list serve. I have already received some much needed tips about silicone liners, and sheaths.
Evidently I am terribly naive. I have been a bk for seven years, and had no knowledge of devotees. This is perverse and odd. I would want a female to be attracted to me as a person, not as an amputee. Apparently there has been some lively discussion about this... I missed it.
Thom Bloomquist
I too, an a newbie to the list a comparatively new amputee (2yrs) L-BK. You are wise to place a consult prior to the procedure! One person suggested you meet with a local support group, he spoke well. Join the ACA, talk with a CP (Certified Prosthetist) and talk to the amputte group members about CPs as well. As with all things skill and personality can vary (so can price). I also chose to speak with a psychologist, knowing that I would go through body image changes and all of that (include you mate/friend/significant other/dog -whoever you live with) for this also affects them. Write back and we can talk about anesthesia stuff.
Pearl Hilliard
My name is John and my wife is Atsuko, I am English,32 and she is Japanese,29. We live in Los Angeles. My wife got hit by a bus this May. Atsuko was rushed to hospital went to ER, then, waited in the hallway for ten hours before surgery. They gave her morphine, but on her this has no effect. The doctors did not find this out until just before surgery. For over ten hours she was in tremendous pain. Atsuko's left foot was completely crushed. The doctors showed Atsuko and me what was left of the foot to prove to us that it had to be amputated. It was a right mess, just bits of flesh hanging there . Now Atsuko is a below knee amputee.
The first week in hospital was crazy, Many doctors, nurses, counselors, lawyers, psychiatrists, occupational therapist, physical therapist. It was very stressful and confusing. They were all very helpful. I was surprised on lack of information on things such as using crutches. They teach you to walk down the hall, then up and down a couple of steps and that's it. It was only after I went to the library and borrowed a book about crutches. Then she was able to get more use out of them. To my way of thinking this type of book should come with your new crutches. Also, I borrowed a book called "What to expect when you lose a limb" by Roberto H. Barja and Richard A Sherman. It's a bit out of date on the prosthetics, but otherwise it is very helpful. This type of book the hospital should give to patients expecting or having recently had an amputation.
Yesterday was Atsuko's first time trying out her prosthetic, which is a Seattle light foot. We were led to believe by other people but mostly ourselves that the permanent prosthetic would look real, but it looks as if we had false hopes. I know in the last five to seven years the mechanics in the prosthetics have improved greatly, but I would like to know if they have improved cosmetically. I am probably wrong, but men more are interested in the mechanics, as women are more interested in the cosmetic look for prosthetics. Expectantly for a woman in our society who are judged by their appearance.
As a Japanese custom, we always take off our shoes and walk in our socks at home. Also, in Japan you find yourself taking your shoes off and on all the time when you are visiting people. It has come to my understanding that you cannot do this with a prosthetic because the foot is set at an angle for the shoe.
"Kael B. Kennedy"
I am a bi-lateral AK, due to a clotting disorder; the first leg went in 1980, following a series of failed fem-pop bypasses and gangrene; the second started to go about three years ago, and after months of ulcerations, TPA infusion therapy, etc., a couple of major heart attacks and long hospitalization finally helped get rid of Ol'#2...last fall. It's a wheelchair for me for awhile yet, and a pair of legs is in the offing once a congestive heart thing gets taken care of....
So, this 54 year old trial lawyer is semi-retired for now, keeping a hand in the law by volunteering ADA assistance to The Legal Clinic for Disabled here in Chicago (suing the Cubs and Tribune for lack of access or even trying....) and an adjunct faculty spot at Northwestern"s Law School.
I am just learning about hand-cycles...want to know a LOT more...and am preparing a piece on them for posting here shortly. The mfrs. are all nice folks, to be sure, but marketing and consumer orientation are not their long-suits...the wheelchair distributors also seem less than consumer friendly for the most part, I suppose because they are so used to dealing with OTs,PTs, and insurance companies--- what's the consumer got to do with anything????
I have been wheedled back into sailing of late...a sport I once engaged in almost exclusively until the second leg started to hurt like hell....but now I am participating in a Chicago adaptive sailing program, using Freedom 20s a la groups in the East and Florida, and have been selected as one half of a two-person team (1 of 3 from Chicago) to compete in the North American Challenge Cup, here, on July29-August 1. Competition from Canada, Japan, Brazil, and elsewhere...I am excited, apprehensive, and rarin' to go.
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