Visiting

Today will be busy with a combination of work and chauffeuring the boys. In between appointments, I am squeezing in a visit with a new amputee. I try to prioritize visits when requested because I remember how difficult it is to reach out for help. I hate to delay the request and, although I will be stretched thin, today I will move my schedule as much as possible to accommodate. 

Visiting a new amputee always fills me with a mixture of emotions. I am happy to help by lending information and support whenever possible. Each time I prepare to meet with a new amputee I find myself transported back in time, to when I was struggling and felt alone. My goal is to provide the support that I was lacking so many years ago. 

Being reacquainted with the difficult emotions is always uncomfortable for me. I don't like remembering that time in my life, and I especially don't like reliving the emotions so vividly. I mourn for my foot, but I also grieve for the scared young woman who was petrified of her life without a foot. In a weird way, each time I visit a new amputee I feel like I am reaching back to my younger self. 

Visiting a new amputee is always an experience which is both rewarding and fraught with anxiety. I am not looking forward to the emotions that I know will emerge, but I am eager to make a new friend and help provide some support. Every effort and revisited emotion is worth it if I can help make the path easier for somebody else.  

Wish us luck today!