I would like to take the time now to thank Brenda for so willingly accepting my request for this interview! Thank you Brenda!

1. Tell us a little about yourself.
Brenda: My name is Brenda, I'm 36 years old, have a husband named Richard. I have two daughters Lorraine 14 Marie 10. We live in Central Florida.

2. How long have you been an amputee?
Brenda: I was born missing my right foot so I've been an amputee my whole life.

3. What kind of amputation do you have?
I am a Right Below Knee amputee but have not always been this way. I was born missing just my foot so I was basically a symes amputee.

4. What was the reason for your amputation?
Brenda: Two years ago is when I became a BK amputee after I opted to have revision surgery. The reason for the elective surgery is because I had a long residual limb with a bulbous end. Over the years with my skin getting pinched in the socket I had developed a callous and it wasn't going to get better. The other factor is that prosthetic technology over the years has grown by leaps and bounds but because of the length of my leg was unable to take advantage of this technology so I opted to have the leg revised.

5. How did your family react to your amputation?
Brenda: Growing up my parents and siblings were great they never treated me any different and I was always encouraged to do what I wanted. When I opted for my revision surgery at first my husband didn't want me to have the surgery because of having to take time off work and he didn't think that my boss would be very supportive but they were great. I ended up having over 500 hrs of sick leave donated to me by my fellow co-workers. My husband and kids were very supportive during my surgery and recovery time and they waited on me pretty much hand and foot until I could do things on my own.

6. Did you deal with depression or experience the grief most LadyAmp's deal with in their recovery? How did you overcome it?
Brenda: At first I didn't have any depression or grief I only thought about the technology that I was going to have access to and how much better my life would be. Then I got my first leg and I had thought oh I have walked on a prosthetic leg my whole life this will be easy and when it wasn't, I started to get depressed. I couldn't walk very far without limping and I couldn't walk without the aide of crutches or walker and I had always been so independent that I hated the decision that I had made. I had even started thinking about putting my leg in the closet and spending the rest of my life in the wheel chair as it was so easy. I started to do research on the computer and found LadyAmp and a few other amputee sites that have message boards. I started to chat on Yahoo with a couple of newbie amps and they helped me through some of my darkest days. I even cried while chatting with them (I'm sure they didn't know I was crying). It helped me a lot to get things into perspective. I then on the suggestion of my therapist started to write a journal (well actually not a journal) just jotting down on the calendar my good days and bad days. I eventually started to see that I was having many more good days then bad. I also re-evaluated my goals from the big ones that I had set to more attainable goals that I could do in a few days and weeks. I think doing those few things really made my recovery easier and after thinking about it wish I had set these goals before the surgery or at least soon after. I guess I figured it would be the same but it wasn't, I had a wound that needed to heal and then I had a leg that needed to get used to being in a prosthesis again.

7. With your circumstances as they are, and knowing what you know now, would you still opt for amputation?
Brenda: Since I have been able to have success this last 1 1/2 years, I have no regrets and I would definitely have the surgery again. The only thing I would change is my approach. I would think more about the healing and setting goals that I can attain in short amounts of time rather then looking at the big picture. Kind of like putting a puzzle together you do it one piece at a time looking at the area that you are doing at the moment. Doing things in BABY STEPS!!

8. What has been your biggest accomplishment so far?
Brenda: Well my biggest accomplishments have involved my running. I set several running goals and I have obtained each on of them to date. My first goal was to run a 5K (3.1 miles) I have now competed in about 8 of them. Running a Marathon 26.2 miles was another goal that I set for myself and accomplished it, though my finish time wasn't what I wanted because I had suffered a few injuries during my training and wasn't able to do all of the training that I should have. But I finished it and can put myself in the marathoner category. Another big goal that I had set was to have a sub 30 minute 5K and I accomplished that by running one in 29:32. My other goal is to run a half marathon in under 3 hrs and hope to do that in Nov of this year. I have lots of running goals.

9. What has been your biggest obstacle to overcome?
Brenda: Funny you should ask that. My biggest obstacle has been acceptance. I guess even though I knew I was not disabled or at least I have never felt that way, I still felt so different and had low self-esteem. With the support of so many people in my life the last 2 years I have over come this obstacle and I now hold my head up high and I am very proud of who I am today. This to me was a mountain inside even though I never really showed those feelings.

10. What kind of prosthesis do you wear?
Brenda: I can't discuss the system that I am currently wearing as it is new and not on the market as of this date. (my prosthetist developed it with his team) I can tell you that I have no cover and it is very high tech. My foot is a RE-Flex VSP by OSSUR.

11. Was your prosthetist experience a good one? A bad one?
Brenda: My prosthetist experiences have been good and bad. I have had several prosthetist in my life but right now I have the best team and would highly recommend them to everyone. They strive to make me the best prosthetics and when I tell them I couldn't have run my marathon without them they say sure you could and they are so humble that it makes it that much more enjoyable of an experience having them on my team.

12. Since your experience was a good one, what piece of advice would you give a new LadyAmp who is in search for a prosthetist?
Brenda: First of all since this is going to be a long term relationship you need to find someone that you can be comfortable with. You need to make sure they have your best interest at heart as we all have different needs and wants. What is good for you might not be good for me and vise versa. Ask questions like:
1. How long have you been a prosthetist?
2. Why are you a prosthetist?
3. What happens if the leg doesn't fit? Will you make a new one?
4. Will you help me accomplish my goals no matter what, even if it's running a marathon?
5. How hard will it be to get an appointment if something is going wrong with the leg?
6. Will you see me on the weekends if need be?

13. Are you, or have you ever been part of an Amputee Support Group?
Brenda: I am currently a member of an amputee support group and if you have one in your area I highly recommend it as it really helps to know that there are others out there going through similar situations. I never had any kind of support group growing up. I knew very few amputees and no children so it was hard on me. Although I do attend a group we are a very small group but I hope it grows.

14. What was the best advice you ever got after your amputation? And who gave you the advice?
Brenda: My best advice after my revision surgery was to take BABY STEPS and to set small goals and once I accomplish these small goals then add the bigger ones slowly to the list. My therapist gave me this advice and she is now my friend.

15. Even now, I still have some fears I don't think I'll ever get over. (Snow and ice can frighten the stuffin' out of me!) What fears do you still have?
Brenda: My fear is that I won't be able to run.. Silly fear but it's my fear. I live for running and want to run even when I'm 80 years old and hope that I can accomplish this.

16. For some amputees, the feeling of a 'normal' life is over. What would you tell them you've learned over the years?
Brenda: What's normal? I still live an active life. I have a family which includes a husband, kids, dog and I work outside the house. I take one day at a time and I try very hard not to dwell on the fact that I have to wear a prosthesis. I get up in the morning and put it on and don't look back or think about it until I take it off at night when I am heading to bed. I've learned that people are going to stare at me when I wear shorts or a skirt, but how they react to it depends on how I react to their stares. I smile and if they ask I tell them and then I go on. I love to answer questions from kids though as they are so honest and most of the time they can be so cute. Life as an amputee is not the end of the world because if it was my time would have been up many years ago.

17. My motto has been 'there is life after amputation'. Would you agree?

Brenda: There is life after amputation... I agree with that 100%. You just have to have the attitude that life goes on.

18. What one piece of advice would you give a new LadyAmp???
Brenda: My advice is find a good support team that includes a prosthetist and a therapist because they can go hand in hand. Once you get your leg, you then to have someone to teach you how to use it properly. The prosthetist can teach gait training but their time is limited and therefore it doesn't always happen. I find that most will make the leg show you how to put your leg on and off, and then send you on your way. You have no clue on how to control the movements of the leg, you have no clue on how everything works in it's relative space, so finding a good therapist that has knowledge in prosthetics and gait training for amputees is so important. The other thing is the Prosthetist and therapist can give you the tools and the training but you have to use them. Once the tools are in place, it's up to use them. Do things in BABY STEPS!! Set goals that you can do in a short amount of time and not things that you can do months down the road. The tunnel is long and dark when you set goals that are to far down the road but if you set the easy goals you'll see the light sooner.

I am always willing to help others if I can so feel free to e-mail me personally at peggie_leigh67@yahoo.com