Sponsored Content
from The Limb Preservation Foundation
An afternoon of hunting with his friends in January 2022 turned nearly fatal for Sam Beveridge when an accidental shotgun blast decimated his leg between the knee and ankle. In the middle of a snowy cornfield, Sam was catapulted into a terrifying and life-threatening situation. Luckily, his friend had a field tourniquet to slow the bleeding, and they quickly met the ambulance at the main road with Sam in the back of a pickup truck.
In this dire race against the clock, Sam required 11 units of blood transfusions and was placed into a medical coma as doctors worked to stabilize his leg. After several conversations, his doctors presented him with two options.
“The doctors said if we amputated, I could be walking in two months. If we tried to save the limb, it could take a year or a year and a half, along with multiple surgeries. That’s when I became a BK—below knee amputee,” shared Sam.
His friends and family began reaching out to find resources and connections that could support Sam on this new and unexpected journey. One of his friends put him in contact with The Limb Preservation Foundation (LPF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals facing limb loss or trauma. Sam connected with a peer mentor, who gave him insightful tips and strategies for managing life as an amputee. For Sam, the greatest benefit was feeling as if LPF opened the door to a new community.
“Most people have no clue what it looks like when you wake up from surgery as an amputee due to a traumatic incident,” Sam says. “Getting connected with LPF at that integral time was critical for me. Even that initial contact just reassured me that I had a connection and a community to help navigate this new world.”
LPF offers numerous support touchpoints for patients, including quilts and care packages delivered to patients in the hospital, peer support programs, and a patient assistance program that provides financial support for housing payments, medical costs, transportation expenses, and more. The organization enhances its support with online webinars for amputees focused on pain management, prosthetics, and more.
“I enjoy a sense of community, and I’ve had tremendous success finding my place and finding new relationships in a lot of new areas that I never expected,” Sam explains. “It’s a critical thing to have a community, and I attend LPF’s events as a way to expand my network and meet surgeons, physical therapists, amputees, and others.”
LPF’s Annual Symposium brings together patients, family members, medical professionals, and industry experts to explore the future of medicine and embrace a comprehensive view of physical and emotional well-being.
“For me, it was acceptance of my position right away,” says Sam. “I had to learn how to pick up, move on, and keep going. Being a farm kid, I couldn’t just rub dirt on it and go on with my life. I had to deal with something that was bigger than me. I had to create this second chapter in my existence, and that’s what I did.”
Today, Sam is embracing the possibilities of life as Sam 2.0, pursuing his passions, and staying active with his two sons. Sam has transformed his perspective on this experience as a refresh and a reset on his life and an opportunity to cultivate a legacy of motivation and inspiration.
For those interested in learning more about The Limb Preservation Foundation, visit limbpreservation.org. You can also visit the website to find more information about available scholarships for LPF’s upcoming Annual Symposium.
