I was reading a blog here where someone said that they liked being an amp.  That got me to thinking about my attitudes.  First of all, I'm a voluntary amp.  After the accident, I had seventeen surgeries that were supposed to make the leg functional and pain free.  They all were unqualified failures.  I demanded that it be removed.  The choice between a never ending series of futile surgeries and a functioning pain free prosthetic was a real no brainer.  I really regret that I didn't have it done much sooner.  But do I LIKE being an amp?  If I liked it, I would view it as a positive good, something to recommend to my friends without reservations.  As an amp, I have only counselled amputation once, to a guy whose arm was as painful and messed up as my leg was.  Certainly being an amp has impelled me to "prove" myself and thus I have accomplished much more than I would otherwise have accomplished.  I like myself and am comfortable with my body configuration.  I wear a prosthetic, no cosmesis, nearly all of my waking hours, and wear shorts, no apologies, in the summer.  Were I to be granted the mythical three wishes, I would still do so.  Maybe if it were twenty...   How does everyone else feel? 

Luck

Ben 

In response to Rob's blog about the benefits of being one armed, my top five benefits of being one legged.  I'm sure that other people have other lists, but this is mine, from personal experience for all of them

#5.  You never have to worry about having your sox match

#4.  A pair of sox lasts twice as long

#3.  You can slip it off and use it as a weapon

#2.  You can hide cash in it when you're in the unsavoury districts and no one will suspect it's there when you're robbed

#1 You fit in the airline seat, (and the middle seat of a pickup truck) when it's off

Luck

Ben