Sudden Interest

If there is one silver lining to the Boston bombings, it would lie with the increased awareness and interest in limb loss. I have received more media requests for interviews and comments during the past two weeks than I have in the past year. All of a sudden, it feels like everybody is interested in amputees!

I have been doing my best to parlay the interest about amputees into a discussion about prosthetic parity. Although I am not always successful switching the tone of the interview, I believe that this new exposure is the best opportunity to bring the issue of insurance fairness to the mainstream consciousness. I'm hoping that the small blurbs that are often written referencing the cost of prosthetic devices will somehow spark a debate. I am the hopeless optimist.

When I received an invitation to meet with my local Congressman who was interested in learning more about amputees and prosthetics, I jumped at the opportunity. Thankfully the meeting was scheduled for yesterday at 10:00. I breathed a sigh of relief, comfortable with the fact that I could drop Robby at school and make the appointment with time to spare.

True to Murphy's Law, Robby woke up Wednesday morning with a fever and cough. I avoid calling Scott when he is at work, but yesterday I made an exception. Recognizing that this was an important opportunity, Scott didn't hesitate and immediately made arrangements to come home. With Robby quasi-comfortable and secure in the knowledge that he was with his Daddy, I managed to make the appointment on time.

I was delighted that Congressman Frank Wolfe was so interested in the issues of our community. He listened intently, asked informed questions and verbalized his willingness to assist. I am delighted that the limb loss community has a new ally, and I'm hopeful that we can begin creating some meaningful dialogs. I left the meeting feeling a renewed sense of optimism and an excitement about the future.

After coming home and briefly checking on Robby, I ended up locking myself in the computer room to participate in an interview with a producer from the HuffPost Live. I was delighted by the invitation to become a panelist in a roundtable discussion concerning limb loss issues. As soon as I hung up the phone, Scott and I began to frantically clean the computer room in preparation for the video discussion group which was scheduled to film in two hours. (Okay, perhaps claiming to have cleaned the entire room is not entirely accurate. Our efforts were limited to setting up the web camera and hiding or moving everything that was untidy in the background.)

I've never participated in a video roundtable, but I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Although I was initially nervous, I quickly felt like I was chatting with friends. The other three panelists had diverse backgrounds and experiences, but we all shared the commonality of living without a limb. In case you missed the show, the video is at the end of this post.

Yesterday was busier than normal, but highly satisfying. I'm learning to embrace the opportunities and adventures that come my way, knowing that this  interest in amputee life will quickly wane. In the meantime, I'm going to keep trying to spread the message and educate as many people as possible.