Amputees are Fabulous People too!

Hi There,

I have not been LEGG Talking lately. But it is not because I've anything to talk about. This is far from the truth. I have so much on my mind these days.

Disability Employment Awareness Month is one of my busiest months, where I spend time traveling around the country to shine the spotlight on the value of hiring people with disabilities. This year's (08) theme is America's People. America's Talent.. America's Strength. Of course when I speak I raise the volume on amputees by sharing my story. As a woman living with one leg and chooses to wear a prosthesis, I somewhat lead a double life. See, on the one hand, when America sees me, I am not viewed as a person with disability because some members of our society are still stuck in the mindset that in order for me to truly claim to be a person with a disability that I must "look" the part. On the other hand, I walk with a limp. But I also happen to be fabulous :) I love wearing clothes that flatter me. Yet, I think this confuses one's paradigm of what he/she thinks about how people with disabilities are suppose to look, act, speak and live.

What do you think?

This is a good start. Now let the talk begin..e-mail me at donnawalton@leggtalk.com if you wish not to publish your comments.

LEGGTALK

Welcome to Legg Talk-- Lessons of Empowerment for achieving Goals and Greatness
Created by: Donna R. Walton, Ed.D.

I was inspired to create this BLOG after meeting three young men who fought in Iraq and, as a result, lost their limbs. Each young man, who I imagined were not over 25 years old, wore artificial leg(s). We exchanged our anecdotal stories about living our lives as amputees. But during our conversation, they shared with me that they were not connected to other amputees; that they were not familiar with what was going on in the civilian world in terms of folks with missing leg(s). Naturally, I thought that this would be my calling, so I shared my phone number with these young men so that I could be a support to them, especially when it comes down to talking about artificial legs.

So, this BLOG was created for the purpose of serving as a forum for amputees who want to talk about their prosthesis and what life is like living with no leg(s). So whether you are an Above-the-Knee amputee(AK), Below-the-Knee amputee(BK), or Double Ak, or Double BK, I am starting this Blog for us to engage in Legg Talk. I am aware that as amputees we do not generally chat about our leg issues with just anyone, so I hope you will feel free to talk about your leg issues with me.

Finally, I have invited my prosthetist to join us later to talk with you and answer questions and address any concerns that you may have about your artificial leg(s). In the meantime, I want to serve as resource for you, especially for those young men and women who have returned home from Iraq and Afghanistan with missing leg(s). I am qualified to work with folks with disabilities. I apologize in advance if you do not think of yourself as a person with a disability. It is certainly not my intent to label you. We can more talk about this later. I hold a doctoral degree in counseling with a specialization in rehabilitation. I am also a certified cognitive behavioral therapist,life coach and motivational speaker!

Having one leg has not stopped me from achieving my professional and personal goals. And I believe it is my calling to work with others who are challenged by adversity. I want help others achieve greatness in spite of their challenges, whatever they may be. Now, before I close, I would like to share that I was fitted with a new artificial leg. What an experience! You see, I had this expectation that I was going to be able wear a high tech leg, one that would allow me to have a smooth, normal gait. I really believed that I would not walk with a limp nor with the aid of a cane. I am sure my prosthetists knew I may not realize this dream, but they dare not tell me. This is not their goal. As you may already know, a prosthestist's goal is to give you hope and to restore your life to normalcy.

My journey towards reaching normalcy--walking without a limp-- began 30 years ago when my left leg was amputated above-the-knee. I was 18 years old, and I could never imagine leaving the house without my artificial leg. Just the mere image of my pant leg flipped under my waist band like a young man who we affectionately called One-Legged Steve and who was my first encounter with an amputee when I attended junior high school, made me feel very, very uncomfortable.

So, you may imagine that I was very anxious when I was fitted with my 4Bar pneumatic knee, the knee unit of choice for the transfemoral amputee. I was really expecting this leg to allow me to walk without a limp. Moreover, I really wanted to be fitted with a C-Leg, but it was not an option because my insurance does not pay for it, and I was not prepared financially to afford one. You know high tech legs can cost over 32K? Thus, I have settled for a DAW knee. But I have retained my old prosthesis which has a quad socket and pelvic band. On the other hand, my new leg has a single axis foot with toes! Now, I have to admit having toes is pretty cool. Can't wait to paint them! Oh, by the way, if you are a female with a very short residual limb and your prosthesis uses a DAW knee, I would like to hear from you.

Thirty years ago, it was my expectation to walk without a limp, but now I am just content to be able to walk. Over the years, I worked so hard to build self-esteem and confidence. And I almost risked loosing it when I decided to have the expectation to walk normal. My gimpy gait is mine and it is very normal. Yet, I am both fascinated and disturbed by strangers who quiz me about the way I walk. Are you questioned by strangers about how you walk?

Can you please answer this: why should folks with two legs be concerned about how folks with artificial limbs walk? Why should folks with artificial limbs care about what others think about their gait? Walking is the point, isn't it? Well, what I think I have learned from walking with a limp is that when we strive to make others comfortable we sometimes lose our focus on what really makes us comfortable. And, in the end, we learn that normalcy is a state of mind not a state of reality. How are you walking these days?

Let's talk!