Yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of my life changing fall. This week has seen a spike in my anxiety, while it has been rough, it was not unexpected. I have experienced the same problems for the past 2 years, so the increase in symptoms this year, while unexpected, were not preventable. The amazing part was that, on the actual day of the fall, I had a wonderful day. This is due to Kate and I celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary. We made the decision to change the outlook of that terrible day into a very positive one, and I must say...it worked.
On to the updates,
I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to the Moving Forward Limb Loss support group a few weeks ago. It was a wonderful experience and I look forward to further meetings with those wonderful people. You can watch the speech here Moving Forward Speech
I spoke about one of my least favorite cliches..."Playing the hand you're dealt." We all have heard this euphemism before. A negative event happens, and inevitably you're met with at least one person telling you to play the hand you're dealt. I happen to disagree strongly with this though process. Playing the hand your dealt, leaves you in the situation. I say, instead of playing the hand you're dealt, why not change your cards. Life is not a poker game, No, life is more a game of Go Fish. You can ask your neighbor for help, and luckily, you can help your neighbor as well. Playing the hand you're dealt would have left me with a fused knee and ankle, and miserable.
In a few weeks, I will be travelling to Stanford University to speak to the School of Medicine. I will be giving an Ignite! style speech with a power point to back up my points. I will be posting a video of this once it's available.
I am happy to say that, while I'm not where I want to be in life, I am finally optimistic again. It has taken 3 years, but I feel like I'm finally getting back to who I am. I have finally mourned my loss of both my leg and previous identity. I have came out on the other side with a determination I wasn't aware I was capable of...I now understand the battles I have been through will be platform I stand on to help others either get through their battles or avoid them completely.
I'll be updating again soon,
Until next time.
PM
Follow along on the adventures of an amputee Paramedic. I have now fell into activism/advocacy work for Insurance Fairness for all amputees. I occasionally do some Motivational Speaking, I'm writing a book, and of course blogging all that stuff here. Follow me through all my wins and losses in the fight to break the stereotype of what amputees are capable of. I may write about EMS, Healthcare, Amputees, or Nonsense. Follow the blog and see what today brings!
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