There I lay, my face covered with a large green sheet and warm fluid flowing uncomfortably freely from my neck.
For a brief moment I though to myself, “Oh come on, I’ve just survived a major infection, open heart surgery, a surprise amputation, kidney failure and now a tiny cut in my neck is going to do me in…
Tag Archives: The Amputation
Have You Ever? Part 5
Are you looking forward to medical advancements related to lost limbs?
Do they rust, get clicky or squeaky?
Would you consider loading it with gadgets and making some kind of Swiss army leg?
15: In The Neck Of Time (Part 1)
You may think the most unpleasant thing I experienced during my hospital recovery was the pain of a cracked open chest, or perhaps the discomfort of the phantom menace.
Maybe it wasn’t something physical, the trauma of waking to find yourself short a limb can be fairly unpleasant.
However…
British Heart Foundation: The Ticker Tapes Podcast
A couple of months ago I was asked by the British Heart Foundation to have a chat about some of my story in an episode of their podcast series “The Ticker Tapes”.
7 Things I Didn’t Have To Think About Before I Became An Amputee
Many of you reading this will know that I wasn’t always an amputee and if you didn’t know, well now you do.
In fact, for seventeen years, three months and nine days (not that I’ve ever counted it), I was a perfectly healthy biped with nothing more to worry about than a scraped knee, a congenital heart condition and the occasional winter cold…
13: Rolling Along
I wasn’t aware until several weeks after waking up that during my long nap in the intensive care unit, an epic battle of wills had taken place over my unconscious body…
Have You Ever? Part 4
Are there any unexpected benefits to having a prosthetic leg?
When asked how you lost your leg, do you tell the truth or come up with some wild story?
Have you ever smuggled anything in it?
11: The Phantom Menace
I had been asked while in the ICU if I was experiencing any pain where my leg had been. To my shame I had never heard of this side effect of amputation and so, though it was a very strange thing to ask. I shrugged off the suggestion and said that I couldn’t feel a thing but then again, with all the drugs that were being pumped into me I couldn’t feel much of anything…
Have You Ever? Part 3
Does the remainder of your amputated leg have any uses?
The remainder of my leg, called the residual limb or “stump” does have a use. My prosthetic leg is attached to a socket which fits onto my stump. There are…
Have You Ever? Part 2
How much time do you spend on crutches? Do you prefer it to being on your leg?
I’m pretty sure that I’ve mentioned previously somewhere in the blog that over the last few months I’ve had to spend a lot more time on my crutches than usual.
This is because…
The HopScot 