On Sept. 22nd, I had a doctor’s appointment with Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics and all the parts to build my prosthetic leg was in the office. I was waiting while my doctor was putting my leg together, and he showed me the knee part of my prosthetic. I held it and I told him it was heavy.
He said my new prosthetic leg overall will be heavier than my old one, but it won’t feel as heavy because of the technology built inside. The technology inside my knee is powered by Bluetooth, which I didn’t know until my Doctor told me.
My Doctor also said putting my prosthetic leg together is tedious work because of all the nuts, bolts and screws that is used to put it together.
I got a chance to put on my prosthetic and only took a few steps while in the office. My Doctor had it hooked up to a computer to get all the calibrations right so when I walk in it, it won’t malfunction.
I was a patient of this Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics when I first became a hip amputee at 17 years old, and they made my first prosthetic leg. During my appointment, my former Doctor who built my first prosthetic leg came by to visit. We haven’t seen each other close to 10 years ago. I was 17 years old when I got my first prosthetic leg, and now I’m 32 years old.
He asked me how I was doing, and what I’ve been up to, and I said I’m an inspirational speaker talking about my experiences with cancer and being a hip amputee. We exchanged business cards, and he said I’m in good hands with my current Doctor.
It’s going to take some time before I’ll be able to walk in public with my new leg, because there is still a lot of work to do, but progress is being made.
My next appointment is Sept. 29th.
* On Sept. 19th, I saw the movie Hacksaw Ridge, which is a biographical war film about Desmond Doss. Doss is an American pacifist combat medic who refused to carry a firearm of any kind. After almost killing his brother when he was young, the commandment “Thou, Shalt not kill” always followed him, and he wanted to stay true to himself.
* When Doss entered the army, he became an outcast because he was interested in only being a medic, and helping people rather than hurting or taking people’s lives. His Captain wanted to discharge him for psychiatric reasons, but that was overruled because Doss’ religious beliefs don’t constitute for mental illness.
* During the movie, it was also interesting to find out that Doss also came across an injured enemy soldier and helped him. The enemy soldier was scared because he thought Doss was going to kill him, but instead, Doss helped him by wrapping bandages around the man’s wounds.
* Ironically, Doss saved the life of the Captain who wanted to discharge him from the army. At the end of the movie, Doss’ Captain said he was the bravest soldier out of all the other 77th Infantry Division soldiers who held guns. Doss rescued 75 solders at Hacksaw Ridge, and was awarded the Medal of Honor.
* I connected with the fact that Doss stood up for what he believed in, even when the army was against his beliefs. While watching the movie, I felt like I understood what Doss was going through because everybody is not going believe in the vision that God has put inside of you.
* The lesson I received from the movie was to not give up on my goals, and to stay true to myself. What I’m doing as an inspirational speaker and author is different, but it doesn’t make it wrong because some people won’t understand how I express my pain, struggle and accomplishments.
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