The Amputee National Conference
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Good Morning , My name is Dianna Southard , but everyone calls me Dee , My story begins like so many other Amputee stories ,
I was 2 steps up a kitchen ladder , you know the kind , short ,fat, squat, with a handle , the wicked safe kind .
March 20th 2007 was a stormy blustery day on Nantucket, a little island 30 miles out to sea , off the coast of cape cod. I was working by my self that morning. when I fell , I quickly came too I realized my phone was not in my pocket , not in the work space , NOT in the house , I butt scooted out to the car and still couldn’t find phone , when I started to pass out again I fell out door into snow , there was my phone I HAD BEEN SITTING ON IT . From then on it became a train wreck that you just couldn’t look away from.
Our little hospital on Nantucket can’t handle this kind of trauma ( I had A Tib / Fib FX of more then 10 but less then 20 pieces ), due to the weather they could not get the med-vac chopper to the island, so I had to wait for the Coast Guard fixed wing plane to come from the air base north of Boston.
By the time we arrived in to the hospital ,in Boston, it was to late in the day for surgery & By the next morning I was so swollen that I had to go into external hardware for 3 weeks ( my surgeon went on Vacation ) , when they went in to fix the break there was too much dead bone to repair , I was on the operating table so long that I ended up with a raging MRSA osteomyelitis infection , like watching A train wreck !
Fast forward 4 years of Non-weight bearing & casts , 15 surgeries , I was back on my feet again , it took 4 more years and a lot of PT and hard work but by the summer of 2015 I was almost back to normal . I was walking 5 plus miles a day , swimming , back on my motorcycle .
Early spring 2016 the ankle started to occasional pop , by late April it was “ popping “ every step and “ sliding “ every other, the ankle was DONE !! the doctor said the word “ Amputation”.
We did our research , I talked to My doctors , to the Physical Therapy department( that had taught me how to walk after the original injury) , and they all agreed , I COULD DO THIS !!! August 8th I had a RBKA , October 31, I brought home my first test socket & put my crutches away.
I go twice a week to Spaulding Rehab ( they cared for the marathon survivors ) for PT , they are giving me the motivation to push my limits, I would love to start running again , and I haven’t been in the pool since the amputation , but, would be thrilled to be back in the water , to be able to scuba diving again with my husband would gain back a big part of our lives together that we have lost.
My main interest in attending the Amputee Coalition National Conference August 2nd-th 5th , in Lousiville kentucky would be the Certified Peer Visitor training session & certification available the day before. I am active on a number of Facebook amputee sites , and Administrator on one of them . I love talking to people about my injury , my surgeries , and my leg. I work in Autism therapy and feel I could make a real difference as a Certified peer visitor . When I contacted ACA before my surgery requesting a peer visit, there was no-one available in my area ( Nantucket , Cape & Islands ). I was blessed in the fact that a friend of my oldest son was a long time amputee and offered to come by the house & visit with my husband and me. Greg made such a HUGE difference, he took the " shiny new scary " out of a prosthetic leg and everything involved in living daily with a prothetic , I want to be able to provide that knowledge and relief to someone else. My Physical Therapy team at Spaulding are open to helping to set up a support group in the area,
someone told me the other day " I've never meet someone ELSE with an amputation " it broke my heart , this is no easy job we've been given ( amputation ) and nobody should have to do it alone .
I need your help in attending the Conference because 6 weeks after surgery we found out that our landlord of 10 years had sold our home. we were forced to leave our little island and move to the mainland . With all our moving expenses , on top of not working till I’m back up on 2 feet again money is tight , I am on SSI and have started working part time again, but I can’t justify spending a thousand dollars ( cost of conference & room , transportation ) that should go to food & shelter . Please know that if given the opportunity I will repay it 10 fold in our amputee community
I was 2 steps up a kitchen ladder , you know the kind , short ,fat, squat, with a handle , the wicked safe kind .
March 20th 2007 was a stormy blustery day on Nantucket, a little island 30 miles out to sea , off the coast of cape cod. I was working by my self that morning. when I fell , I quickly came too I realized my phone was not in my pocket , not in the work space , NOT in the house , I butt scooted out to the car and still couldn’t find phone , when I started to pass out again I fell out door into snow , there was my phone I HAD BEEN SITTING ON IT . From then on it became a train wreck that you just couldn’t look away from.
Our little hospital on Nantucket can’t handle this kind of trauma ( I had A Tib / Fib FX of more then 10 but less then 20 pieces ), due to the weather they could not get the med-vac chopper to the island, so I had to wait for the Coast Guard fixed wing plane to come from the air base north of Boston.
By the time we arrived in to the hospital ,in Boston, it was to late in the day for surgery & By the next morning I was so swollen that I had to go into external hardware for 3 weeks ( my surgeon went on Vacation ) , when they went in to fix the break there was too much dead bone to repair , I was on the operating table so long that I ended up with a raging MRSA osteomyelitis infection , like watching A train wreck !
Fast forward 4 years of Non-weight bearing & casts , 15 surgeries , I was back on my feet again , it took 4 more years and a lot of PT and hard work but by the summer of 2015 I was almost back to normal . I was walking 5 plus miles a day , swimming , back on my motorcycle .
Early spring 2016 the ankle started to occasional pop , by late April it was “ popping “ every step and “ sliding “ every other, the ankle was DONE !! the doctor said the word “ Amputation”.
We did our research , I talked to My doctors , to the Physical Therapy department( that had taught me how to walk after the original injury) , and they all agreed , I COULD DO THIS !!! August 8th I had a RBKA , October 31, I brought home my first test socket & put my crutches away.
I go twice a week to Spaulding Rehab ( they cared for the marathon survivors ) for PT , they are giving me the motivation to push my limits, I would love to start running again , and I haven’t been in the pool since the amputation , but, would be thrilled to be back in the water , to be able to scuba diving again with my husband would gain back a big part of our lives together that we have lost.
My main interest in attending the Amputee Coalition National Conference August 2nd-th 5th , in Lousiville kentucky would be the Certified Peer Visitor training session & certification available the day before. I am active on a number of Facebook amputee sites , and Administrator on one of them . I love talking to people about my injury , my surgeries , and my leg. I work in Autism therapy and feel I could make a real difference as a Certified peer visitor . When I contacted ACA before my surgery requesting a peer visit, there was no-one available in my area ( Nantucket , Cape & Islands ). I was blessed in the fact that a friend of my oldest son was a long time amputee and offered to come by the house & visit with my husband and me. Greg made such a HUGE difference, he took the " shiny new scary " out of a prosthetic leg and everything involved in living daily with a prothetic , I want to be able to provide that knowledge and relief to someone else. My Physical Therapy team at Spaulding are open to helping to set up a support group in the area,
someone told me the other day " I've never meet someone ELSE with an amputation " it broke my heart , this is no easy job we've been given ( amputation ) and nobody should have to do it alone .
I need your help in attending the Conference because 6 weeks after surgery we found out that our landlord of 10 years had sold our home. we were forced to leave our little island and move to the mainland . With all our moving expenses , on top of not working till I’m back up on 2 feet again money is tight , I am on SSI and have started working part time again, but I can’t justify spending a thousand dollars ( cost of conference & room , transportation ) that should go to food & shelter . Please know that if given the opportunity I will repay it 10 fold in our amputee community
Organizer
Dee Southard
Organizer
East Sandwich, MA