In the last 24 hours, two different people have found this site using the following search queries: "How can one get along with both legs amputated?" and the much more difficult -- and heart-rending -- "multiple+amputee+how+life."
I am going to assume when answering these queries that the people asking are either recent multiple amputees, people facing multiple amputations, or people with loved ones suffering or facing multiple amputations, not just curious onlookers. But regardless, to answer the question honestly? I don't know. People do get along without legs, though, and without even more. They just do.
Hey, I didn't know how people got along/lived with just one leg amputated until I was faced with the choice of living that way myself and decided to go ahead and find out. And yes, as I've said before, it was a choice. My other choice was dying. This choice, whether to continue or not, is always there, for anyone, amputated or whole, and it's a choice we each must ultimately make for ourselves (and some people actively make it on a daily basis), even though others may feel qualified to make the choice for us and will not hesitate to tell us what they think our choice should unquestionably be. We have to each pick it for ourselves, though, or else it doesn't stick.
Sure, part of my decision to go ahead and try living this way was that I didn't relish forcing the people who love me to suffer through my impending slow, painful decline into utter uselessness and then death. No, asking that of them was not reasonable. Still, though, I truly do love my life and want to keep it as long as I can function. I did what you're doing, looked around to see if there was any way to tell in advance whether it would be possible for me to keep my life -- what I really thought of as my life when it came right down to it -- without my leg. That's how I decided to go forward even though I was sad and afraid. So hey, good for you for asking. You're on the right track. Keep asking, not just this question but every question you can think of. Questions are a sign of hope, the expressed desire for information, for answers, for guidance along a path forward.
I still don't know how people live with fewer limbs than I have, and I certainly hope I never have to find out firsthand. I can guess from my own limited experience with limb loss and from talking with several multiple amputees I know that it starts with making the choice to try. After that, it's simply a matter of figuring out how, just like it has been for me. So my first recommendation, once you decide that you, too, want to try, is that you narrow the scope of your search.
Think about what makes you sad to be an amputee, what you think you've lost or will lose. Think about what you'd like to keep or get back, no matter what, in terms of activities and skills. Think about what makes your life worth living besides just not being dead. Then change your search language to "amputee+[fill in the blank]." You can put anything in that blank, whether it's golfing or skydiving or gardening or jogging... Anything, really. Origami. Skipping rope. Animal husbandry. Eating lunch. Just because you will have to learn to do it differently than you used to or than you anticipated when you dreamt of doing it before does not mean you won't be able to do it. And if you can't find the answers, narrow your search even further and build your own answer skill by skill. Of course, it's even better if you have someone who can show you, a physical therapist, occupational therapist, prosthetist, or even another amputee -- or all of them, the more the merrier. Don't be afraid to ask them. They may not know the answer, but it might be really great for them to help you figure it out -- and then they can show others, as can you.
Here are links to information about some people who've made the choice to go ahead and live with two or fewer limbs. Some of them I've posted links about before in some way or other, but maybe when you look at them all together with yet others they will present a coherent picture of what might be possible for you, or for the loved one you're worrying about.
Ronan Tynan, M.D., a champion disabled athlete, physician and celebrated tenor
Andrew Bateson, a teenage hockey player even after bilateral amputation below the knees
David Toole, a world-famous dancer with no legs
Dr. Ken Rutherford, author, consultant, speaker, activist, bilateral amputee via landmine
These are just a few people who have survived multiple amputation and gone on to start building meaningful lives. So look, yeah, it is possible to live -- really live -- with two or fewer complete limbs. Is it tougher than living with all of them? You know, it's certainly more challenging than anything I've ever had to do, or anything I ever hope to face, but I have observed that ultimately concepts of ease and success really depend on each person who encounters each challenge. Some people have a hard time living with every physical part intact. And some people blossom in the face of increased adversity, though I really don't recommend seeking it out. (Adversity has a way of finding us whether we look for it or not.)
But...is it fun? Can a person this physically damaged even have fun? Well, again, that really depends on the person. Everybody has to give stuff up. It's part of life. We lose each other. We lose pieces of ourselves both hidden and obvious. Some losses are more obvious to the outside world than others, and some make many of the physical acts comprising existence more complicated than others. Ultimately, we will each give up life itself. Can you know this and still be happy? Can you still somehow manage to have fun even after horrible, permanent, potentially crippling physical loss on a scale few people experience before death?
Yes, eventually. Or immediately. Regardless of your physical status, sometimes joy is easy, but sometimes it can only come to you after you've decided it's worth working for. You might want to leave yourself open, either way.
I just got back from a dance intensive and worked with a bi-lateral amputee (both legs above the knee) who was extremely talented and accomplished (and if memory serves me, dancing came to him post accident/amputation).
I also take yoga with a woman who is missing both legs to the pelvis AND both arms to just below the elbow.
Where the is a will, there's a way...
signed~ a one legged (R-aka) bellydance teacher, who doesn't use a prosthesis for dancing (yet?)
Posted by: bonnie | September 23, 2005 at 08:03 PM
This is a great web site which I found randomly. I'm a bilateral amputee of three years with both legs off near my hips. I don't wear prosthetics and I have just gotten over it and am starting to live life again!
Your points are well taken. I had to mourn my legs and my old life before I could get on with my new life. I got some therapy and had to learn to love my new body. You know what? It's not so bad!
Lee
Posted by: lee wood | October 04, 2005 at 12:00 PM
Hi, I am a above right Amputee.
This web site is great. It has
been just over a year for me. I
am back with the living. I use to
run marathons 5k's 10ks. hike cross countey ski. I live in Rolling Hills CA. I am back to the gym and am looking for a trainer who can teach me how to
run again. Becky
Posted by: Becky McDonald | October 04, 2005 at 10:06 PM
Becky, I am, as the blues song goes, "built for comfort, not for speed," so I really know absolutely nothing about running -- unless it's running to catch the bus, or the ice cream truck. However, I would recommend that you contact the Challenged Athlete's Foundation. Their "Catch A Rising Star" program is probably just what you're looking for. To quote the website, "The purpose of Catch a Rising Star is to provide post-rehabilitation support and mentorship to individuals who have suffered a traumatic injury or been born with a congenital defect, resulting in an amputation or loss of use of limb(s) or body. This support consists of physical training clinics, an on-line community and direct relationships." This particular program is only for people in Southern California.
Go here for more information, or click the link to the CAF in the list of assorted links in the righthand column of this page.
If you do this, please let us know how it goes. Good luck!
Posted by: Sara | October 05, 2005 at 12:09 PM