Introductions Part Eight
January 1998
Tim Adams timkicks@CAPROCK-SPUR.COM
Tim Adams, 37 year old father of one son, Clinton (Clint) and one wife, Trudi (Trudi). We live in Spur Texas, population 1300 (a very optimistic count, btw). I have worked as a salesman/consultant for our family's construction business for 18 years now. I teach the martial arts and have a 2nd degree Black Belt in Ni-Gojuryu karate.
I lost my leg above knee on 8/13/94 when a John Deere tractor turned in front of my pickup on a rural West Texas highway. I was going 59 mph, he was going 15...he won anyway. Trapped in pickup for 2 hours, flown to UMC in pretty buggered-up condition (not a medical term). Also lost eyesight in one, all right forearm muscles, gallbladder, ACL on remaining leg, herniated abdomen.
Left hospital anxious to get on with the life that the Sabolich promo-videotape said was possible, and immediately found that it wasn't---at least not for me. Went next to Nova-Care where I found more of the same, and dumped a similar sized pile of money. Somehow I still had faith that the prefect prosthesis still existed, somewhere, if I only looked hard enough. Miami Florida seemed like a good enough place to continue the search, so my wife & I packed up and went to world renowned Finnieston Clinic (did they say that, or did I hear it elsewhere?), where I found pretty much what I found at the previous places. Oh yeah---left another small pile of cash there too, and later sent them their leg back.:-) Beginning to wonder if a decent leg existed. Beginning also to wonder if I was being unreasonable in my expectations.
Went to Mike Allen in Midland where he built for me a perfectly acceptable prosthesis. Ahhh, there is hope. Heard about Mark Ashford at A&O Prosthetics in Forth Worth, a supposed above knee specialist, and despite the screaming voices of common-sense telling me "don't do it again dummy", I gave Mark a try. I've been wearing his/my fantastic prosthesis 12-15 hours everyday since. A true legman:-)
I've tried just darn near every component available. The ones I choose to wear everyday are: Flex Foot VSP, Mauch SNS, Black Max frame (USMC), and A & O suction socket. I consider all to be extremely good, but consider my Flex Foot to be fantastic. Flex Foot, the first positive prosthetic experience among a lot of disappointing experiences.
Hobbies include previously mentioned karate, and flying. Got my Private Pilot Certificate in 1984. I now fly a Challenger II ultralight which I keep in my garage/hangar.
Joe Odenweller joe.odenweller@WORLDNET.ATT.NET
I can't remember much before I lost my foot. I do remember making a bet with a neighbor that a lawn mower couldn't really hurt me. I lost the bet. This was 1960. I was 6 at the time. I spent a month in the hospital running in wheelchair races up and down the hall in the pediatric wing. After a month my mom came to pick me up at the hospital and took me straight to the airport. Seems we were moving from Detroit to Baton Rouge.
The next few month were spent settling in to a new school, seems the teacher didn't know how to discipline a new amputee so I ran wild. I also remember I was up on my prosthesis fairly early, but the most specific I can be is that I lost my foot on August 2, 1960 and by Christmas I was running around on two feet again. A year later we were back in Detroit.
Growing up for me was totally normal. I did everything everybody else did, admittedly I wasn't a great athlete, but leg or no, I don't think I would have been.
I did a lot of bumming around between the ages of 18 and 27 including multiple different universities. At that point I went to work in my chosen profession and have been bust ever since. I'm a computer nerd. I'm not just talking about PC's, I'm talking the whole spectrum. I first started working with mainframes in 1976 as an operator. I moved from there to a systems programmer. A trip back to school for a year plus and I moved into application programming on mainframes and midrange systems (called minicomputers at the time). Our system programmer left and I was asked to step in. I've done systems level support ever since. Supported VM and DOS operating systems on IBM mainframes for a while. Moved from there to supporting large VTAM SNA networks. From there to X.25 packet switched networks. From there to large TCP/IP router networks. From there to UNIX systems. Add to that involvement with PC's since before the XT came out, including work with OS/2 when it first came out, and lots of involvement with WinNT and Win95 from the beginning.
I met my future bride in 1990 in LA, I was living in Dallas at the time and visiting a friend in LA. We were married the next year. I have a 5 year old son named Daniel (he prefers DJ) who goes to a half day of school right now, pre-K, that he loves. I have a 2 1/2 year old son named Nathan who doesn't speak yet, but we're getting help for him, and I am told I didn't talk till I was 3 years old. Finally we just had a little girl we called Kirsten, she was born last October and is progressing really well. She is getting pretty good at manipulating object with her hands and will stand up for 10-15 seconds at a shot.
Enough about me, who's next?
Candy Hammond ke4yfi@WWD.NET
I'm a hillbilly, born and raised in West Virginia, but have lived many places, usually down south, before spending the last twenty years here in Kentucky. The mountains where I live and the flat bluegrass, only two hours away, are probably as close to heaven as this old girl will ever get. So speaking of old, will just let you know that I'm 44.
My childhood was wonderful, petted and pampered, and very much spoiled. Got to do everything and anything I have every wanted to do. I have always been a rolling stone and have rolled through jobs and marriages, without gathering anything but a few pleasant memories. This is due to the fact that whenever the going got rough, Candy got going!! I was married for the last 20 years, and have one son who is 18. All I can say is, "Thank God, I'm not a Grandma yet!! I would prefer my son to finish college first, get married, and then have children. But, as he told me when he was six, that it didn't happen that way. He was always a precocious child.
Anyway, I have done quite a few interesting things, I have been in broadcasting for many years, both Television and Radio. Both were great ego trips. I have worked in construction and managed several businesses, including a waterbed store and a coal analysis lab. I have held many sales positions, it has been said that I could sell Iceboxes to Eskimos. <grn>
I was just rolling along until six years ago, when I was diagnosed as a diabetic. I suspected it for some time, my father and grandfather and grandmother are diabetics. I had done the ostrich trick for a few years previously, and had hid my head in the sand, denying to myself, that I had diabetes. I was immediately put on insulin, but for a year or so, I was still resistant to alter my lifestyle. Only when I began to get blisters on my feet, that would ulcerize did I start to straighten up. But, I would never, never truly believe that I could ever lose a limb. Finally, a trip to the Cincinnatti Zoo, (my most favorite place in the world) produced a large blister, that would not heal. I went the route for over two years, with different types of aggressive therapies.
Finally, the osteomyelitis showed, and after more treatment, was decided to remove the infected joint, where it was present. This was done, April 1995, and I thought the osteo was gone. No ulcers, I was being a very good girl for once. But in January 26, 1996 my toe swelled up, turned red, and I ran to the surgeon. He both hoped it was only broken. This had happened once before, you see. But it was not. The osteo had come back and was moving up the bones in the arch, also. Surgery was performed Jan 30. The doc wanted to do a bk, but I held him to only taking just what he needed to. So a textbook syme was performed.
I have changed greatly since the amputation. I am not as vain as I was, I do not have the strength that I had only a year or so before that. I am happier with the person that I am now, rather than as the person that I was. Before, I am afraid, I was just a little ruthless, one of those women on a mission types.
I am now in my second semester at college. I did great my first semester, but this second semester, I am having trouble, due in part to health problems. My kidneys are starting to fail, and somedays it is a real effort. I feel I will not make the Deans List this time. I have a great curiousity for everything connection with amputees. Some aspects has surprised me, some has horrified me. But, I still intend to have a greater understanding of the wherefores, and whys. I will have a degree in Social Work when I finish college, and will be working with disabilities.
I suppose that is all except that I need to thank the listserv for their support in the past, and for the help that I have recieved from from the members, and would like to take this opportunity to thank Ian and Regina for their assistance when I was in need.
Candy Hammond
Flatwoods, KY