I know it's been a lil while since my last post, and I will do my best to explain the happenings in my life since then.

1st, the skin issue on my leg has completely gone away. There were 2 different incidents, and both times I had my socket adjusted/altered, and each time the skin issue had faded and got better within days.

In other amputee progress, my physical therapy has, once again, goone through the speradic start/stop routine. Lately it has been because of the weather in Pittsburgh, these lovely snow storms make it difficult to drive. And it doesnt help when you feel you CAN drive and THEY call you to cancel because half their staff didnt show up... I will eventually finish it I am sure.

As for other news, since Saturday, February 20th I have been an inpatient at a local hospital thanks to a condition called "Diverticulitis". I am getting better, just in a kit if pain. The dilaudid shots every 4 hours are assisting making this place tolerable LOL.

Everything else is going alright I suppose. I will be posting some youtube videos someday soon.

SEEYAH!

Since my amputation almost 3 years ago, I've gone through 4 socket changes. The last 3 after a very nasty fall...

In February of last year (08) I had gotten up one morning, and put on my leg as normal. It was cold in the room so I had to turn off the ceiling fan, and the only way to do it was to kneel up on the bed... so I was standing facing the bed.... reached down, and released the lock and pulled off the prosthesis, leaving the liner on. I knelt up on the bed, pulled the ceiling fan chain, and went to stand back up. Now standing back up, I wasn't paying attention, and could feel the liner still on, and had to get out the way from the dog on the bed, so I thought "move quick...." and stepped to my left..... no leg, and BOOM down I went. I hit the very tip of the stump, which buckled under me... damaging the bottom and lateral tissue around the incision of the amputation.

The leg took all but an hour to swell up, but within that hour I had managed to squeeze the prosthetic back on it. Which almost instantly proved to be a VERY bad move... I couldnt bear weight on it AT ALL.

Within 3 months it was discovered that teh tissue was damaged, and it needed surgically repaired. After that surgery I was able to gain a new socket by end of July. Starting me all over again with Physical therapy.

Unfortunately since then my physical therapy had been started and stopped about 5 times. This latest time because of a Skin Issue, which lately was determined not to be serious, but I am once again starting physical therapy from scratch due to hip weakness and balance problems.

To date I cannot walk more than a quarter mile (if that) assisted by a crutch. If I go to a grocery store, WalMart, or even visit someone in a hospital, I HAVE to use a wheelchair. If I dont, I end up with a lot of pain forcing me to rest multiple times within several yards.

I'm not where I should be by now. I should be moving easily unassited, and I should have gained my gaol of riding a bycicle by now. My amputation site is about 5" below the patella center. Which is unusually high compared to common BKA's. And that's because when they went to amputate, he found infected tissue farther up the leg than the original site of the infection. He cut lil by lil till he found a good level to do it.

Where he did it was about the highest he could go without compromising the stability of a Below-Knee prosthesis. At least that's what he told me. But because of all the problems I have had since then, I wonder if I am lobbed off too high, and he should have just taken the knee.

For the 1st time since my amputation, I am experienceing a little bit of depression. Not necessarily grieving the limb loss because I wanted it done in the 1st place, but I just think maybe I'm not cut out to physically get myself to where I want to be.

I'm not a quitter, and after seeing josh's videos, and hearing his story, I want to succeed in all I do. The 1mt1mt thing REALLY caught my attention. But being 5'6" and weighing about 250 pounds, I'm really limited and out of shape to really be where most LBKA's are 3 years afterwards.

I need guidance, I need help, and I wonder if I need a new physical therapy plan.