Self Pity

I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.

D.H. Lawrence

This poem has done wonders for me. I am an intelligent man, but there are times in my life as an amputee that all the brains in the world (not that I have them all, grin) aren't enough to drive me forward. So I put the higher functions aside and strive to be a wild thing.

I've been told that stubborness is the greatest attribute to have when it's time to recover from an amputation. I personally believe this is true. Over the past several years, in talking with other amputees, I've expanded this list.

Here are some of the attributes that I've heard people credit for their success in recovery from an amputation:

• Stubborness
• Faith
• Openess to change
• Anger
• Fear
• Commitment to improvement
• Vision, as of an improved future (perhaps related to faith?)
  Support (of others, not a true personal attribute, per se, but a lot of people credit others for their success, so I've included it -- personally, I don't think we should credit others with our success; they can assist, but cannot do, in my mind; the gumption to move comes from inside, not from outside)
• Luck
• Good health (I've heard people say this, probably in the context of lack of disease enabled healing, but physical healing isn't sufficient, I think, for true recovery)
• Surrender (as of control, or giving up the illusion of control, perhaps as in openess to change, in the list above)
• Good medical staff (helpful for healing, but past that for recover? I'm not sure about this one)
• Information/dedicated support (this is in contrast to the general type of support, above, but is more specific to recovery from an amputation, e.g., participation in an amp support group
• ????

What do you think? I'm interested in what other amps credit for their recovery. Drop me a comment and give us your opinion, if you don't mind.

Thanks,

Why being a below-knee amputee isn't all bad:

10. You still have a knee, which causes AKs and hip-disarticulations to call you "flesh wound".

9. Leaving only half the total amount of toenail clippings beside the bed increases marital harmony (and toenail clippers last twice as long!).

8. You get twice the wear out of socks (wear once, swap feet, wear again -- repeat at your own risk).

7. You are more likely to survive the next ice age than otherwise whole people (fewer extremities means less overall frostbite).

6. When riding your bicycle, stray dogs that begin to chase you get very confused.

5. When people say "sorry" after stepping on your foot in a dark theater, you can honestly respond "no problem".

4. You don't have to be quite as picky with your appearance as other people (go a day or two without shaving, wear a ball cap instead of brushing your hair, wear a dirty shirt, etc.) as long as you wear shorts because no one will notice anything but your leg.

3. For the clumsy, spraining your ankle becomes a thing of the past.

2. In rattlesnake country, you cut the odds of getting snake bit in half.

1. After seveal tequilia shots, you can freak out people who don't know you are an amputee by kicked the crap out of hard objects while demonstrating no pain!

Just a bit of amp humor to start the day. Enjoy. Feel free to comment and add your own!