Return to You're Not Alone! (Page 2)
by LadyAmp

If you lost a leg you will most likely have problems getting around the house, and you can expect this. You may have problems going upstairs to your bedroom, in which case you should sleep on the downstairs couch until you become more comfortable with going up and down stairs. Ask your doctor if you can use your fanny to get up and down stairs. I did. Not that I went up or down too many stairs at one time, I didn't. But to go up 2-4 stairs it works well. To get yourself back on your feet, use your walker by laying the back end of it on the floor, and using it as a leverage to get you onto your feel again. (See the illustration below) Check with your doctor to make sure this is safe for you to do!

You may have problems getting on and off the toilet seat, in which case you should get a commode with a higher seat or a toilet seat extension until you learn to do without them-as you certainly will. You will become tired more quickly. So stop and rest.

If you use a wheelchair, put ramps in, although you may think they may only be needed temporarily. If you start out with a wheelchair you may graduate to crutches, a walker or a prosthesis, in which case you can remove the ramps. If you decide to use a wheelchair permanently, keep the ramps, widen doors if you have to, and do anything else you need to do to make your house accessible and comfortable for you.

What happens if you end up on the floor from a fall? Wow, that's a loaded question, because there will come a time as an amputee that you will fall. My prosthetist told me early on it's not 'if' you fall, it's 'when' you fall. And in my case, I personally think it held me back in a lot of ways. My fear of falling was always on my mind and the only fear I had other than having to go through more revision surgery.

If you've read my Journal, you know I fell the first night home from the hospital. I held onto a record of two and half years before I fell again, a major obstacle to overcome for an amputee. But, getting up off the floor doesn't always have to mean you got to the floor by a fall. What if you want to just sit on the floor?? For some reason I wanted to sit on the floor, but getting back up into my wheelchair or back onto the couch kept me from venturing that far down.

It wasn't until one night I got down onto the floor to play with our dogs and when it came time to get back up onto the couch, I panicked. I didn't have a prosthesis so I couldn't use that to get me back up but I suddenly remembered, I did have the couch. I scooted over to it, sit with my back against the couch, and lifted myself up onto the seat cushion. Not difficult at all. But.....

What if you don't have the strength in your arms to get your butt off the floor??? lol...lol....there was a time when I wouldn't have been able to do that, believe me!! But, if you use a walker, you have a handy 'hand' to help you back up.

I never know how to explain to someone, without showing them, what I mean by this explanation. I had a LadyAmp sister ask for an easier to understand description, and that's all I needed to try and explain this better! So here goes:

I then show you in Fig. 1 where the Support Bars are on your walker. I've never seen a walker that didn't have the Support Bars, so I'm guessing (and hoping!) you have them on your walker.

By placing your walker on the floor, with the Support Bars touching the floor, you can use the walker to lift yourself up. The legs of the walker are made to withstand your weight, so don't worry, you can use it safely. If you're a BK amputee, you shouldn't have any trouble using your knee as a brace to stand, but I'm not sure about an AK. To be on the safe side, try it with someone with you as a safety net and precaution. Of course, whenever you attempt something new, ask your doctor if he feels you'll be safe trying to do this!!

Hopefully the image to the right makes sense to you. If not, just let me know and I'll try and explain it better!

Family and Friends-Getting and Giving Support

Support from family and friends is invaluable. But don't be surprised if a family member or a friend is unable to cope with your amputation. It happens. For some, the thought of a loss limb is 'gross' or unbearable and seeing it may be hard for them. Don't be upset. Adjusting to your amputation may be the hardest thing they've had to deal with. So give them time and patience.

Your family and friends can help you do things you haven't yet learned to do for yourself but they should not do everything for you. It may be difficult for them always to find a happy medium between being over protective and seeming to be insensitive. You can help them by making it clear that if you need help you'll ask for it, and by telling them it's okay for them to ask if you need help, as long as you have the right to say 'no thanks'.

I've come across something that may happen to you. Around family members and friends, the words amputation, amputee, stump and others, may be diffcult for them to hear and say. Have a sense of humor when it comes to these words and let your family and friends know those words are fine to say, especially since they are true. Banning the words from conversation will only make the sitation more difficult for those who love you to accept it if you don't allow them to be spoken aloud.

In general, patience and time is on your side. Especially time. As the weeks pass, you'll adjust to your new way of life and the new way you have to conduct your life. As the months pass you'll get a prosthesis to enable you to walk. And as even more months pass you'll find with the prosthesis you'll be able to do more and more which will give you more confidence in yourself and your ability to accept this new way of life.

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