Writing Sample

1. Northwest Florida Amputee Support Group
Many amputees in the Northwest Florida area are in need of a local support group) for Amputees
and their family’s and friends. A place to go online for help and peer support from those who
have experienced a limb loss and for those facing loss of a limb or who lost a limb by accident a
limb be it a foot, leg, arm or hand. One of the local Prosthetics & Orthotics Office in Fort Walton
Beach, Florida and Okaloosa County services many older and new amputees and as a patient
myself for 6 years I have been asked to help setup a method not related to a business or
corporation to better communicate and help local patients by establishing a Certified by the ACA
(Amputee Coalition of America) Support Group that can service the many counties in the Florida
Panhandle.
I have been talking about starting a Local Amputee Support Group for a very long time and
finally Facebook seemed to offer a very good way to start. So here we go! I am not trying to
replace all the other wonderful sites such as ACA, 360 and Amputee Empowerment Partners and
so many more; however, I know when I lost my leg above the knee back in 2004 from a post-op
bone infection after a Total Knee Joint Replacement surgery what I needed the most was to talk
to someone who actually had experienced losing a limb.
When I asked for that kind of support it was not there, only paperwork, brochures, videos and
visits from the Re-Hab doctors and Prosthetists. That was good and appreciated but there was
something missing, I needed to actually see someone who had dealt with this and could tell me it
was going to be okay.
Along these lines before I get to deep I want to try and work with all the other Amputee's and
Limb Loss people in our Northwest Florida area to setup and organize very affective Support
Groups in each of the counties in the Panhandle and use the guidelines of the ACA so we are
successful at meeting the main needs of all the people; current amputees and mostly those
facing a loss of a limb. And then yes be there for each other no matter how long we have been
amputees; I have been a AK (Above the Knee) for more than 6 years and there are days I get
down about my missing leg because maybe my socket is rubbing a huge blister on the bottom of
my stump, or Residual limb and I can't wear my socket and walk until that heals. We all have
bumps in the road and the best medicine is to reach out and talk.
I was fortunate to have Hanger Prosthetics in Fort Walton Beach and what I consider to be the
best Prosthetists, Jack Pranzarone, because he is not only my prosthetics but a very good friend
and his Intern at that time and young man named Paul who is now working at the Pensacola
Hanger Office. (I'm sorry I forgot your last name Paul, please Join and let me know) In his 30
plus years of experience he help a great deal but he was very honest with me letting me know he
could not tell me exactly how things were going to be without a leg. But he could and did tell me
what he could do for me if I worked with him and trusted his experience which I did.
As a new amputee we and our families and friends are over loaded with so much advertisement
and programs we have seen on TV or read about and of course with all the vets from the Gulf
War, how the prosthetic technology has come so far that losing a limb could be replaced and be
almost as good as new. That is what I actually thought after I made my decision to give up my 2
year battle with MRSA Infection and signed the paper to have my left leg amputated above my
knee.
I had already had 12 plus surgeries to fight this awful bacteria that was suspected to have landed
on my open bone during my Knee Replacement surgery, but one can never know the real source.
I was so sick and to rate pain on a scale of 1 to 10 each day became a joke. I was always at 21
off the chart. Serious pain when they take the metal out and put in a Hockey Puck size block of

2. antibiotics and then IV twice a day for 8 weeks which makes you sick. But life is all mixed up
when battling something like this and you feel sick all the time especially looking at what used to
be your good leg, the strong one that kept me going when I had injured my right knee at 16
years old and lost count of the repair surgeries and 2 Total Knee Joint Replacements on my right;
my left knee was bad but the leg was strong and I never thought I could lose it by having a
controlled what is now a routine operation performed on so many people in this country. But the
paper we sign says possible complications like infection can happen but you think none of that
bad stuff is going to happen to me. But. . . someone has to be a part that makes up that
statistic, the small percentage of less than 1 percent chance; not only can they happen, they also
can kill with unknown reactions from the anesthetics. So I have learned to count my blessings.
But back to my point for starting this Group is to organize all of the amputees out there so we
can share our good times and help in our down times. And most important I want to become a
Certified Peer Visitor through the ACA so I can go visit that person face to face in shorts so
he/she can see my prosthetic leg with no cosmetic covering looking like it is a robotic leg. Not to
scare but to show hope. Before I decided to go ahead with my amputation after I had seen all
the other people who meant well but had all of their limbs, I was visited by a above the knee
amputee. He walked into my room with crutches because he was just released from ICU a month
ago. He also had a infection in his leg and he fought to save his leg just as I was but when his
doctors said they had done all they could and advised him to amputate he refused and continued
to fight. A week later he went Septic; the infection entering his blood stream over taking his
immune system. He spent a month in ICU in a coma and his family did not know if he would live
or die, but thankfully he lived and took the time to visit me and share his experience.
That was my first light of optimism and I knew it was true. He standing there in front of me
walking, something I hadn't done the last 18 months. He told me it was not the same as having
your real leg and it was a fight to go through re-Hab but after a while it is okay and he got on
with his life. After his I told my wife about him and we both agreed it was time to say when. I did
not want to end up in ICU and maybe never wake up.
My point is Peer Visitation at the hospital or at a patient's home or even a phone call to someone
who is facing the loss of a limb or has already woke up after a horrible accident and found they
had to amputate a part of their body to save them. They need to see the other who have gone
before them and are still active in life. But also be honest about the limitations of prosthetics. Not
everybody is going to lose a leg and go back running or parachute out of a plane. They need to
be aware that the first prosthetic leg or arm the put on will feel cold and plastic and metal not
the warm flesh that was there before. It is at that first fitting the emotions go wild. I did not
expect this.
After I got my first leg I went home crying. I had expected this miracle leg. One that would let
me jump up and start walking, just like I had seen and read about. But no the real truth is hard
but necessary and that is when they need a peer support or friend to lean on and supported by
assurance that it s a process that will pass and soon they will be walking and used to their
prosthetic. But it will never ever replace the original arm or leg we were born with. I would take
my leg back in a heartbeat, but it isn't going to happen in our lifetime at least.
So please share this with your friends and even though this is aimed at the Northwest Florida
area we would like everyone's input and stories. After all we are made stronger by the knowledge
that it is possible to overcome.
Thanks to all for your help because I can't do this alone.