As an amputee in medical school, I've been mindful of how students are taught about disability. What do I want my medical school to teach students about patients like me?
Tag: first person
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5 Ways to Practice Self-care at the Holidays
While late December can be filled with joy, cheer, and cherished family and friends, it can also be a time of loneliness, melancholy, and stress. Here are five ways to keep the blues at bay and find your holiday joy.
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Life Became a Heavy Lift After I Lost My Leg
by Andrew Gray Over the years, my family tree has had a few branches that pruned themselves. When I was 12, my favorite uncle took his own life. A decade or so later, Mom followed in her brother’s footsteps. And lately, both of my teenagers have flirted with the idea of appearing in the local...
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Amputee Mental Health Survival Guide for the Holidays
The messy holiday storyline makes for good comedy, but the truth is that the Season to Be Jolly can feel like an emotional and physical obstacle course for amputees.
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Giving Thanks for the Lessons of Limb Loss
In 2021, amputee athlete Lacey Henderson got hit by an emotional storm typhoon. Buffeted by pride, anger, guilt, self-doubt, and anxiety, Henderson learned anew to find strength in surrender.
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Mental Health Habits for Amputees to Improve Resilience
I’ve often wondered how some folks seem to rise above adversity to do amazing things. Are they genetically wired to be stronger and more resilient?
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First Person: Why I Stopped Trying to “Move On” From Limb Loss
There’s an integrity that can be found in owning one’s own grief. by Chris Prange-Morgan Every year, autumn ushers in its gentle nudge toward accepting that the weather will be changing. Crisp, curly leaves will turn yellow, red, and orange as they begin to release their grasp and gently drift toward the ground. We know...
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Sweet Surprises of Social Distancing
by Alexandra Capellini I ended the call as we said “Good night” and checked my phone’s log: We’d been talking for an hour and 35 minutes. Was that too long for a weeknight when I had homework to finish and lab the next morning? It didn’t seem to matter. We had a lot to cover....
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First Person: Top Tips for Avoiding Rock Bottom
by Alexandra Boutté Have you ever felt like the few strings that hold you together have started to unravel like an old sweater, leaving nothing but a pile of worn-out yarn behind? Have the shiny thoughts that used to light your way out of the darkness become dull and indistinguishable? It might be time to ask...
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How Parenting Increased My Confidence as an Amputee
by ShaTavia Godbolt A few years ago I read an article in Amplitude that said: “For people who lose their limbs later in life, it can be difficult to experience a life-threatening, traumatic experience and then learn to live without something they once had. Not only do they have to learn to mentally cope, but they also have...
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First Person: Rising Up From the Valley
From above, the valley looked like a blissful oasis. But up close it felt turbulent and uncomfortable. AK amputee Angie Heuser examines the tricks our perceptions can play—and how we can rise above them.
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First Person: Keeping the “Fit” in Fitness
Not every amputee is lucky enough to have a devoted workout buddy or personal trainer. So how do you stay motivated and accountable when you’re on your own?
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Aging Gracefully as an Amputee
At age 55, Lorie Tensen has been an amputee for 40+ years. She's making plans for many more years of healthy, happy living as a senior amputee citizen.
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First Person: Standing Your Ground as an Amputee
Advocating for yourself is hard but essential. When facing difficult decisions, you have to be ready to stand your ground in conversations with medical professionals and experts.
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Hot Amputee Summer: How to Survive Sweaty Season
As a Florida resident, Alexandra Boutté spends about nine months a year battling every leg amputee’s warm-weather enemy: sweat. Keeping her cool requires a combination of strategic planning, specialized products, fashion adaptations, and a few other tricks.
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First Person: Changing My Prosthesis Changed My Narrative
Congenital amputee Richard Slusher felt boxed in by his old prosthetic limb. Getting a new prosthesis helped him write a new, more positive narrative about limb difference.
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Sunshine Puts the Heat on the Insurance Biz
Alexandra Boutté is bright and warm despite having survived a cancer recurrence and a right above-knee amputation within the last year. "Here I am, one leg less," she writes. "But there is nothing less about me."
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1st Person: Restoring a Sense of Balance
It’s been a while since we checked in with Angie Heuser. Quick refresher: Angie became an LAKA in December 2018, learned to surf about a year later, and ran her first 10K as an amputee a month or so after that. She also raises money (and lifts spirits) for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. A...
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1st Person: Amputee surfing
This story comes to us from Angie Heuser, a LAKA from Phoenix. Within months of her operation, she resumed running; a few weeks later she took up surfing. Follow her journey at https://steppingoutinfaith.org/. Angie Heuser rides the waves on one leg Mana is the Hawaiian word for power. The power of the wave as it takes...