Before
I had my final surgery, I was paid a visit by the prosthetic
specialist who would be building my first prosthesis. His name
was Eddie, and he was this extremely funny Jewish disabled
comedian on the side. Eddie used to perform at the original
Yuk Yuk's in a church basement in Toronto, and Jim and I would go see
his act while we were in town.
Eddie
was paralyzed from the waist down
and got about on forearm crutches. His sense of humor proved
to be something that I would always remember as putting me a
little more at ease while dealing with my amputation. His
routine had a lot of disability humor and he used to do this
gimpy doctor routine that was hilarious.
Eddie's
visit however, had more importance than providing a few laughs
for Jim and I. He was there to take part in the amputation by
providing advice on how the limb should be amputated to best
fit a suction socket style of limb. This was a great idea that
worked very well. My stump is about mid thigh, and I have
plenty of muscle in the residual limb.
When
I walked out of the hospital, I was on temporary leg
consisting of a cast over my stump, fitted with a knee unit,
what looked like a piece of pipe, and an artificial foot.
Using two crutches at first, I was able to get around pretty
well. Jim and I even made it to the bar the night we both got
out of the hospital, and I remember all my friends being glad
to see that I was up and in good spirits!
Soon,
I was began fittings for a permanent leg at Sunnybrook Medical
Centre in Toronto. For a young kid from Niagara Falls, this
was a pretty weird place at first. It was a veteran's
hospital, and the waiting rooms and fitting rooms were filled
with disabled veterans, some with horrible disfigurements.
This is where Eddie's sharp sense of humor helped a lot.
I
was casted for an above knee prosthesis, and fitted with
temporary limb. By this time I was using two canes. I stayed
at the hospital for a few weeks for physical rehabilitation.
Every day, I had classes in the gym with the head rehab nurse,
who was previously in the military I was told. It showed. It
was a lot of hard work learning how to fall. I climbed stairs,
ramps, swam and walked up and down in front of a mirror for
hours. I guess the hard work paid off, as I have had comments
made to me that I walk very well.
The
final prosthetic limb was finished, and the next year or two
consisted of a series of adjustments and different limbs, and
getting used to being an amputee.
I
can't really tell you about the technical aspects of my
various limbs at that time. To be honest, I wasn't really that
interested in the technology. I was more concerned with
getting back as close to "normal" as fast as I
could. I can tell you that I have always worn a suction socket
fitted with a hydraulic knee and spring foot. I recall being
glad that I didn't have to wear belts to hold it on. The
suction socked seemed to be a good fit, I guess. I was young,
and this was all new to me, so I guess I took a lot of it in
stride.
