andrealeeanne

Dude how? I had a below knee amputation last September and I can barely make it through a whole day of household chores and an errand! I was so freaking proud of myself for WALKING AROUND THE WHOLE GROCERY STORE. I feel like I'll never be as functional as an able-bodied person, let alone be athletic in the least. How do I do things like running? How do I get better at any type of movement? How do I live my life without constantly trying to find an adequate pain medication? I mean, I know recovery is different for everyone, but it feels impossible, and I'm always told "well it can't be that bad, there are so many amputee athletes!" But I feel like I can barely even "mom" normally. So how do you do it?

As someone who was also molested by a father figure (my actual father, but I didn't see him often) I feel that it affects my relationship with my children. I've made it a point to always ask if I can kiss them or help them wash in the bath (well with my 3 year old at least, my 7 month old is too young still), so that they always understand that their body is their own. I also second guess what is and isn't okay, and if someday I'll become a monster like him.

Do you feel your molestation has affected your relationship with your kids?

Not all grandads want hugs. Give him a nice cigar and some expensive scotch for me!

I answered sort of here but if you have any questions after reading that I'd be happy to answer them.

I kept getting infections and had already had 2 prior amputations, months of iv antibiotics and long periods of time where my infections wouldn't allow me to work, and I kind of got to the point where I could commit to 3 more small amputations over the next few years and more antibiotic courses, or just push to "skip to the end" and remove the part of my leg that was always causing issues. The root cause of the infections was that I was paralyzed below the knee down due to a car accident I was in at 10 years old, so lack of feeling, and very low blood flow left that whole limb very susceptible to injury and bad at healing. I guess it's mostly people who don't know me personally who regurgitate the sentiment that "if they can do it you can!" I get tagged in a lot of "inspiration porn" on facebook of disabled athletes and like....I get it, they're awesome, but for right now I'm just trying to live lol.