I have been an amputee for more than a decade, yet I am surprised
by how much I am still learning. Last week I wrote about a clicking
sound from my prosthesis. What began as a slight annoyance at the
beginning of the week turned into a source of embarrassment and
frustration by Friday. The sound grew louder as the week progressed, and
I realized that unlike many prosthetic noises, it wasn't going to go
away.
Friday morning I went to visit Elliot,
my prosthetist, for a diagnosis and tune up. I sure am glad I didn't
wait through the weekend to get rid of the clicking! Almost as soon as I
walked into his office and he heard the sound I was directed to
immediately sit down. He took my leg and, without hesitation or much
effort, pulled the foot completely off the socket.
Apparently
the clicking sound was the result of the bolts loosening. As I
continued to walk through the week, the bolts were progressively losing
their grip to the socket. If I had planted my foot and twisted, the
entire prosthesis would have disassembled. I had no idea that I was
flirting with a prosthetic catastrophe!
Thankfully
injury was averted and my leg was quickly fixed. From now on I am going
to heed the sounds being communicated through my prosthesis. If I ever
hear the clicking sound again, I won't put it off for a week and hope it
goes away.
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