inMotion Magazine

March | April 2019 4 What do you expect for yourself as a person living with limb loss or limb difference? To care for your family, be able to work, play, and be independent? The fact is, amputees participate in almost every field that able-bodied people do. People with limb loss are also swimmers, mountain climbers, artists, police officers, firefighters, marathon runners, prosthetists, nurses and doctors, among other things. What do all of these individuals have in common? They refused to let limb loss dictate their future or deny them their dreams. After their limb loss, they began to build a new life. But before they got to that point, they often came face-to-face with difficult decisions, times of loneliness, despair, anger and depression, and apprehension about their future – the same problems that you might be having now. Reclaiming your old life may seem like an impossible goal when it takes so much time and effort to relearn even basic life tasks, such as taking a shower or driving a car. But living with limb loss means facing – and solving – limitations every day. Able-bodied people rarely have to cope with the kind of issues that people with limb loss deal with on a daily basis, such as pain, fatigue, balance problems or discrimination. They are continually forced by necessity to find practical, creative solutions to allow them to live up to their full potential, at home, in their communities or in the workplace No two amputees share the same experience, confront the same obstacles, or achieve the same level of ability. And yet, you are not alone. The Amputee Coalition is dedicated to teaching people with limb loss how to accept their body after amputation and that losing a body part doesn’t change who they are or what they want in life – that they don’t have to settle for anything less than what they wanted in life before their amputation. You can expect to try, fail and try again in the process of relearning skills, discovering new abilities and confronting limits. You might even consider giving up. But never forget that the fight to achieve your dream is worth it. Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure. ~ Paulo Coelho, author Editor’s Message LIVING THE DREAM FIGHTING EXPECTATIONS ~ Bill Dupes, Editor-in-Chief