Aimee Mullens

Double leg amputee Aimee Mullens broke barriers consistantly from being an athlete, an actress, and a public speaker.

Aimee is from Allentown, Pennsylvania and took up sports and acting at an early age. She's the first amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes in National Collegiate Athletic Association events, and competed in the Paralympics in 1996 in Atlanta. In 1999, she began modeling, and in 2002 she began an acting career. She was born with fibular hemimelia (missing fibula bones). Both of her legs were amputated below the knee when she was one year old. Her parents were told she would likely use a wheelchair for the rest of her life and never walk, but by the age of two she had learned to walk with prosthetic legs.

You can learn more about Aimee Mullens and her acting and modeling career by going here! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimee_Mullins

 Own Your Attitude

This motivating true story will not only inspire you, but will change your way of thinking. By watching this video it will spark up your strong positive attitude!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSytAgtLqVw

 31,000 Year Old Amputation

A discovery of skeletal remains of a young individual from Borneo who had the distal third of their left lower leg surgically amputated, probably as a child, at least 31,000 years ago. The individual survived the procedure and lived for another 6–9 years, before their remains were intentionally buried in Liang Tebo cave, which is located in East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, in a limestone karst area that contains some of the world’s earliest dated rock art.

The lack of infection further rules out the probability of animal attack, such as a crocodile bite, because an attack has a very high probability of complications from infection owing to microorganisms from the animal’s teeth entering the wound.

The discovery of this exceptionally old evidence of deliberate amputation shows the advanced level of medical expertise developed by early modern human foragers in a Late Pleistocene tropical rainforest environment.

To read more about one of the first amputations discovered visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05160-8

 The Civil War

Over the course of the Civil War, an estimated 476,000 soldiers were wounded by bullets, artillery shrapnel, or sabers and bayonets.  The most common wounds suffered by Civil War soldiers were from the bullets fired by muskets.

Over the course of the Civil War, three out of four surgeries (or close to 60,000 operations) were amputations. This earned surgeons throughout the armies a reputation of being “butchers” when in fact amputations were one of the quickest, most effective ways for surgeons to treat as many patients as possible in a short amount of time.

The chances of survival for an amputation depended on where the amputation was performed and how fast medical treatment was administered after the wounding. Many amputations over the Civil War occurred at the fingers, wrist, thigh, lower leg, or upper arm. The closer the amputation was to the chest and torso, the lower the chances were of survival as the result of blood loss or other complications. Many surgeons preferred to perform primary amputations, which were completed within forty-eight hours of the injury. They had a higher chance of survival rather than intermediary amputations which took place between three and thirty days.

For more information about amputations during the Civil War visit https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/amputations-and-civil-war

 Bethany Hamilton

Bethany Meilani Hamilton, born February 8, 1990, is an American professional surfer and writer who survived a 2003 shark attack. Her left arm was bitten off but returned to being a professional surfer. She wrote her own book called Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board in 2004.

While Hamilton was lying on her surfboard stomach-down and talking with her friend Alana, a 14-foot-long (4.3 m) tiger shark attacked her. The Blanchards helped paddle Hamilton back to shore, then Alana's father made a tourniquet out of a rash guard and wrapped it around the stump of her arm then was rushed to Wilcox Memorial Hospital. By the time she arrived there, she had lost over 60% of her blood and was in hypovolemic shock. Hamilton's father, who was scheduled to have knee surgery that same morning, was already there, but she took his place in the operating room with the same doctor.

Hamilton got a custom-made board that was longer and slightly thicker than a standard board and had a handle for her right arm which made it easier to paddle, and she learned to kick more to make up for the loss of her left arm. After Hamilton taught herself to surf with one arm, she returned to surfing on November 26, 2003. It was only 26 days after the shark attack, and she entered her first major competition on January 10, 2004. She now uses standard competitive performance short-boards.

 

Personalizing Prosthetics

One of the most common ways to have personalized prosthetics is to incorporate a design into the prosthetic fabrication. For example, an athlete may want to incorporate a favorite t-shirt onto their above knee or below knee prosthetic.A t-shirt can be fitted onto the cast of the prosthetic leg. Liquid acrylic is poured over the shirt to seal it in place.

Another way to get personalized prosthetics is to have a design painted or airbrushed onto the prosthetic. Many people have school, athletic team, country flag, or state outline painted onto their prosthetics and then sealed.

Airbrushing or spray skins can add artistic flair to prosthetics. What if your patient needs a prosthetic design for an upper extremity? No worries. Personalized prosthetics can also be designed for upper extremity prosthetics as well after the central fabrication process.

Often, design ideas happen after fabrication but before the materials are laminated for the prosthetic. Elite Paraolympians may choose to duplicate a phrase or piece of artwork they love into their prosthetic. If someone loses their leg below the knee, and had a favorite tattoo on it, the tattoo design can be replicated.

If a patient loves the artwork of Van Gogh or Renoir, they can have a small sample of art on their new prosthetic. Graffiti art from street artists is also a popular choice because of the beauty and originality of each design.

A patient’s prosthetic should be personalized for them and their lifestyle. In the past, prosthetics were one-dimensional and boring in design. With modern technology designing personalized prosthetics allows a patient to have an Ironman-designed prosthesis for their leg.

They can even choose an upper extremity prosthetic that is a gorgeous field of flowers.

How your patients decide to customize their prosthesis are limited only by what they dream up. Many people even start Pinterest pages with prosthetic design ideas so that they can create the perfect design for them.

https://gpfinc.com/customize-a-prosthetic/

 

Microprocessor- Ottobock C-Leg 4

The C-Leg is one of the most advanced prosthetics available. There were new updates that include:

• Supported descent on ramps and stairs
• Improved stance release with short and quick steps
• Stumble Recovery Plus active at all times
• Increased support for sitting down
• Training function for stance release exercises
• Choice between intuitive and deliberate stance
• More options for favorite activities with MyMode Plus
• Deep sleep mode to save battery
• Redesigned charger allowing one-handed operation
• Customizable shield cover
• Darker color option (Midnight Shadow)
• Safe backward walking
• More reliable swing and stance phase control
• User customized functions via the Cockpit app for Android and Apple iOS

https://shop.ottobock.us/

The C-Leg, first made in 1997, was the first prosthetic system to intelligently control and adapt to an individual's gait. It uses hydraulic cylinders to control knee flexing. There's sensors that send information to the microprocessor controlling how much resistance should be applied by the cylinders. The microprocessor receives information from the sensors 50 times a second! which helps to adjust itself in real time.

 

Oliver Halassy

Oliver Halassy July 31, 1909 - September 10, 1946

He was a Hungarian water polo player and freestyle swimmer. He became the first amputee swimmer in the Olympics, and competed at the 1928, 1932, and 1936 Summer Olympics. When he was 11 he was hit by a train and lost his leg below the knee. He won 25 swimming titles and set 12 records nationally. 

Oliver Halassy was placed in the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1978.

Always remember you can still do anything even if it's in a different way. Amputees always make their dreams happen if they really want it, even in the old days. Don't let your amputation stop you from living your life to its fullest!

 

Rick Allen

Rick Allen is the famous English drummer of the rock band Def Leppard. He was born November 1, 1963 and has been playing with them since 1978 even after his accident and amputation. Rick was in a car accident on December 31, 1984. His arm was reattached by doctors but later completely amputated due to infection. He never let his amputation stop him from being one of the greatest drummers in rock history. He is nicknamed "The Thunder God" and was ranked No. 7 on the UK website, known as Gigwise, in the Greatest Drummers of All Time list.

As long as you put your mind to it and stay determined and push yourself, you can do anything and make your dreams, passions, and hobbies still happen. Don't allow the amputation to stop you from doing what you love or want to do!

I made this blog to inspire all amputees like myself. This is a welcoming informational page for amputees to share or relate to stories and read about my own journey and experiences along with others. I will have prosthetic tips along with informative and history topics for amputees. I want this to be an inspirational page for all amputees to build up confidence and know they're not alone.