Never Give Up: Surviving Limb Loss
On July 16, 2015 I answered a call at work that one of our lineman had been injured. As I rushed to the Line Superintendent’s office, I realized my worst fears had come true. Gerry, my husband, had come in contact with a 7200 volt line. He was transferred by Air Evac to Mercy Burn Unit in St Louis. Gerry was in surgery when I arrived, and the surgeon told us he didn’t even know what to expect because most electrocution victims don’t make it there in time. On day three I was asked to sign a consent form to authorize the removal of my husband’s precious hands. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.
After eight revision surgeries, Gerry was a bilateral transradial amputee. Gerry spent months in therapy preparing him for prosthetics, and I am happy to say he was off all pain medications nine months after the accident.
We are forever grateful for all the people who have helped us on this journey. We cannot express our gratitude to Advanced Arm Dynamics’s for all the hard work they did fitting Gerry. The distal ends of his arms required special fittings, and his prosthetist made that happen. He has been fitted with body powered and myoelectric prosthetics. Gerry doesn’t allow anything to slow him down, he continues to do all the things he did before the accident, just in a different manner and a bit slower.
I share videos of him doing different things on my Facebook page, and I always end it with Never Give Up, because giving up is not an option! Is our life easy? No. Things are more difficult and even the smallest task can seem like a mountain. There are still tears, lots of frustration and sometimes the thought “why me” enters our minds. But we are thankful for God’s faithfulness and his grace to see us through.