Firsts

I'm going to play catch up on my experiences and funny stories for a little while until I get caught up. So here it goes...

I got fitted for my first prosthetic in October of 2009 and received it only two weeks later. I wore it for about a month and the doctors realized I had HO (heterotrophic ossification). Basically it is when you get a piece of bone like material that "grows" in the tissue. Mine happened to be at the tip of my leg and the prosthetic was putting pressure on it. It was very painful. I had it removed December 1 of the same year.

I went back to school at Sweet Briar College in Virginia in February for what would be the only semester of my Junior year. My first weekend back a few of my friends and I went to Pizza Hut. I had not really been out in public with my prosthetic with the exception of my physical therapy 3 times a week back in Houston and the nearby Macy's. No one had ever said anything to me about my leg, and honestly I had not thought about what I might tell someone had they asked. There was a wait for a table and the cutest little four year old girl was also waiting with her mom. She curiously watched me walk in and and went over to her mom and said, "Mommy, she has a robot leg!" I don't really remember what I was thinking when I heard that or what I did. The most memorable thing to me was that the mother came over to me and asked me if I could explain to the little girl what happened. I told the girl, "My leg got hurt really bad in a car accident and the doctors had to make me a new one." She expressed that she wanted a robot leg too as she lifted up her pant leg. I told her she had two really good legs and to keep her good legs. She accepted that simple answer. The following week I heard another kid say something, the only thing different was that her mother ripped her up and told her to be quiet. It broke my heart that her curious mind was scolded. You would be surprised but most parents scold their children for wondering.