Amputee Stresses

Over the weekend I was shocked to learn that Amy Purdy, Paralympic snowboard gold medalist and Dancing with the Stars finalist, was in the hospital. What started as a frustrating yet assumingly benign prosthetic issue quickly snowballed into a fight for limb and life. I found her plight to be a terrifying reminder of the vulnerabilities of living with a prosthesis.

While prosthetic devices have come a long way in the past two decades, the intricacies of the biological limb have yet to be replicated. Anytime you rely upon a fabricated device for daily tasks you are subject to a myriad of comorbidities. Blisters, pinch cuts, and bruises can quickly become bone spurs or ground zero for a rampant infection.

Many times the initial recovery from an amputation is only one small battle in a much larger war. Secondary conditions and complications are high simply because the body is not designed to move without the biological limb. Somebody can be active and healthy only to be sidelined without notice. 

From worrying about skin breakdown to struggling with a wonky socket day, amputees know all too well that an issue can change from benign to catastrophic within hours. We don't let the worries, fears, and adjustments stop our lives. Instead, we simply learn to accept them as par for the course with limb loss. But the worry remains real, and it becomes exhausting and overwhelming at times.