Another Week, Another Walk

Posted by: Nate
Posted: Sun, November 29 2009 at 10:47am

My job is a mixture of some field work and some office work, usually about a 50/50 split.  Some of my field work in early November involved a trip to a property that I’ve been working on for the purpose of collecting and documenting the diversity of the plant communities found there.  While it’s not always the most exciting thing in the world to do it generally involves a pretty walk through the woods and fields.  The season added a touch of fall colors and it made for a truly beautiful outing. 

I hope I don’t belabor the idea of taking a walk in the fields or woods but it’s kind of what I do.  The point being that, as an amputee, I’m able to do all of these things with the aid of my C-Leg, as a normal able-bodied person would. 

The purpose of this hike was primarily about the plants found on the property.  I have to document what is currently found on the property so that we have a baseline point to start from.  If the plant community changes in the future we can go back and document what was on the property when we began.  I grabbed my backpack, camera, GPS unit, and walking stick and headed for the property.  I walked the fence line surrounding the property to see what the boundaries looked like, following it through ravines, over hilltops, across creeks, through brush and grassy pastures.  It was a good walk, probably about a mile and a half and I was able to document a lot of great plants and wildlife.  I was fortunate to see a very large whitetail buck and found bobcat tracks in a muddy creek crossing.  It’s the little experiences like this when I am truly thankful to be able to walk as much as I do. 

On another project I walked another tree-choked pasture that followed a small creek for a mile on the landowner’s property.  The topography was somewhat flat but dropped quickly near the creek.  I walked the entire pasture up one side and back down the other; a minimum of two miles of vigorous walking zigzagging through the pasture.  Again it made me thankful for my C-Leg; I remember long walks on other knees and how much energy it took to ambulate.  At the end of the two miles I was amazed at how good I felt. 

This kind of stuff isn’t like climbing mountains, it’s not extreme sports, or anything like that; it’s just life.  These are the kind of day in and day out activities that I am able to do as an active amputee.  I wouldn’t change it for the world. 

Until next time.
Nate

Otto Bock HealthCare pays Nate a small fee for his essays.

Thank you to our Veterans

Posted by: Nate
Posted: Tue, November 17 2009 at 9:13am

I reflected on the couple days just prior to Veterans Day 2009 and how thankful I am for all of our veterans and what they do for us.  I spent those two days prior working with prosthetists at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio Texas.  We were working with prosthetists to demonstrate some new technology that will be available to our wounded vets.  While I was there I saw literally dozens of troops whose life had drastically changed as a result of combat, traumatic injury, and amputation.  My heart went out to them because I remember what it was like to try to adjust to a new life as an amputee.  My heart is also proud of them and proud of their selfless act of service to protect the people of this country, including myself. 

I think of the sacrifices that soldiers make to stand up for what they believe in, to protect people they don’t even know, and to ward off those who would hurt us all.  They are away from their families for many long months, sometimes years, and yet they continue to fight on.  Their families meanwhile work hard to get by without the comfort of their beloved soldier; pushing down their concern for their wellbeing and safety, in order to get through life one day at a time. 

Both of my grandfathers were involved in World War II; one as a Marine in the Pacific battle of Midway, the other as a Air Force bombardier who flew combat missions over north Africa, Italy, and much of Europe.  They fought to protect their loved ones back home, in small town America, because they believed in serving their country and that freedom isn’t free, it carries a price.  The valor they showed by stepping up to fight for our freedoms cannot be overstated; the world was at war and they rose to fight the good fight.

Let’s reinstate an old but good habit that isn’t as common in our culture today as it should be: thanking our veterans for their service.  I implore you, the next time you see a veteran, go out of your way to thank them for serving those of this country.  You’ll feel good about it and they gain a little more pride knowing that they’ve served when asked and their country is proud of them. 

Until next time.
Nate

Otto Bock HealthCare pays Nate a small fee for his essays.

Insurance and the C-Leg

Posted by: Nate
Posted: Tue, November 10 2009 at 4:22pm

In this day and age one of our most contentious issues is that of health insurance.  The news stories are awash with reports of irate citizens attending meetings with their elected representatives telling them what they do or don’t want.  The issue of health care and health insurance is especially critical for the amputee community and thus I figure that it bears talking about. 

I have been an amputee now for just over eight years.  In that time I have purchased, through my insurance, four knees.  I have my preparatory prosthesis, a weight activated knee; I have my first and now second generation C-Leg; and I have a water proof knee for water activities. When you combine the costs of these four knees I’m sure that I’m near, or over, $100,000 in value.
I received all four of those knees when I had good insurance through my own, or my wife’s, employer sponsored health insurance plans.  Now, I’m in a situation where I must provide my own individual health insurance and no longer have an employer sponsored option.  So, what is a guy to do?  I for one do a detailed scanning of insurance documents to see how they cover durable medical equipment, which includes prosthetics.  Some insurance plans include a lifetime cap that you must be aware of and careful for; I’ve heard of some that limit expenditures to $5,000 total – that’s barely enough for a foot these days, let alone an entire prosthesis!  Another thing we can do is to lobby for national prosthetic parity.  The Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) has a campaign to do just that.  It would provide a consistent standard of coverage for all insurance companies to cover prosthetics.  This effort is an attempt to make prosthetic devices attainable to all amputees. 

In my travels and talking with dozens of amputees I have learned that prices for these great new technologies vary by region so it’s hard to say what a C-Leg will cost where you live.  Every C-Leg is different; for some people they only need the knee unit, others need a new knee and foot; yet others, a socket as well.  As you can see the only way to know the cost for sure is to talk directly with your prosthetist. 

Is monetary cost the only way to talk about prosthetics?  I think that we are shortchanging ourselves if we talk about the C-Leg only in those terms.  Yes, cost is of course a factor in deciding whether or not to purchase a knee unit, but it shouldn’t be the only criterion.  What about the intangible benefits that the knee provides?  Like promoting a natural gait; thus reducing strain on the muscles that would normally compensate for poor gait habits.  What about safety?  Stumble recovery keeps you from kissing the ground, protecting you from injury and in theory saving you money over a conventional prosthesis by not having to pay surgery costs for broken bones.  Let’s not forget quality of life factors like capability and mobility, and allowing you to live your life the way you choose. 

I realize that this topic is not an easy one to talk about.  Few things get my blood pressure rising like talk of health insurance (a rant for another time perhaps) but it’s a topic that’s relevant and ever-present in today’s world.  So, think about your insurance, find out the details, and talk with your prosthetist if you are interested in the C-Leg.  I hope that you are able to have the insurance coverage that you need to receive a quality prosthesis that improves your life. 

Until next time.
Nate

Otto Bock HealthCare pays Nate a small fee for his essays.

Does Your Amputation Define You?

Posted by: Nate
Posted: Sun, October 25 2009 at 1:05pm

Does your amputation define you?  I recently raised this question to an online amputee support group on one of the innumerable social networking sites.  I wonder about this question and how others have experienced it in their lives.  If I were to answer that question now I would say, with certainty, that no, my amputation does not define who I am.  I’m not “Nate the amputee” first and foremost.  I’m more like Nate, the dad, husband, biologist, hunter… but amputee shows up pretty far down the list.  I just don’t often think of myself these days as an amputee.
There was a time though that I could not say that.  For those who are unaware my amputation was caused by a cancer tumor that took up residence in the distal end of my right femur.  It was large, aggressive, and it needed to come out.  Chemo didn’t have quite the desired effect in killing and shrinking it but the hope was still that a knee replacement would be sufficient to solve the problem and get me back on my feet.  During the surgery the surgeon found live and aggressive growing tumor in the blood vessels above my knee that could not be seen in the scans; changing the situation entirely and thus a decision had to be made.  If I didn’t undergo the amputation above the knee, at best, I would be guaranteed amputation at the hip in six months or, at worst; my life would be at serious risk.  The decision was made to do the amputation above the knee to preserve my life. 

After the amputation I struggled with being frustrated by the limitations, I was still on chemo so I felt sick and tired a lot, and my fear of dying prompted some deep depression.  It was not my shining moment to be sure.  For a long time I saw myself as “Nate the amputee” or even worse “Nate the cripple” and my amputation defined who I was in my world.  It took a while to figure myself out.  I spent many days introspectively working through my problems and trying to change my self-perception.  Days, weeks, and months went by with good days and bad.  I had learned how to walk again on a preparatory prosthesis and my capabilities were increasing but I still struggled.  After ten months of being an amputee I got a serious break; I had gotten my insurance company to approve my first C-Leg. 

I could hardly wait to get on that knee and try it out.  I had watched the video provided by Otto Bock about what patients could do on the knee and how they felt about it.  I was excited to say the least.  On top of my overall excitement about the possibilities the technophile side of me was enjoying the process as I was hooked up to a computer to custom set each of the many adjustable settings.  I felt like part man, part robot, and part superhero!  In just a few short weeks I was highly capable and on the path to redefine who I was as an amputee.
It’s been seven years since that time.  A lot has happened since then that I never considered possible.  I’ve become a daddy twice, climbed mountains in New Mexico, done high ropes courses, ridden a bike, done countless solo hunting trips, and much more.  Many of these things would not have been possible had it not been for changing how I defined myself and my amputation.  There were many parts in how I came to change that definition but a critical one for me was putting on my C-Leg; it all began from there.  From that one activity sprung a sense of self-confidence, accomplishment, capability, and happiness.  To those who were involved in getting me to where I am today, I say thank you with my whole heart. 
I hope that you too can define your amputation, instead of it defining you.
 
Until next time.

Nate

Otto Bock HealthCare pays Nate a small fee for his essays.

AOPA 2009

Posted by: Nate
Posted: Wed, October 07 2009 at 1:14pm

I was fortunate to attend this year’s AOPA (American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association) convention held in Seattle, Washington.  I was there as a patient model for Otto Bock to talk with prosthetists and other amputees about the C-Leg and some of the other products that Otto Bock offers.  I got the chance to talk to many great people and learn a lot of very interesting things about prosthetics. 

If you’ve never attended an AOPA convention it’s a lot like other trade shows out there; lots of vendors demonstrating their wares to potential customers.  There were easily over 100 booths laden with various types of orthotics, prosthetics, and all of the accessories that go along with them.  The booths were surrounded by prosthetists asking questions about the items, talking through the intricacies of each product.  They also held several seminars where presenters taught various nuances of prosthetic and orthotic setup and alignment.

Another great opportunity was to meet with other amputees who wore a variety of Otto Bock products.  There was Bob, a hip disarticulation amputee from Louisiana, who wears both a Helix hip joint prosthesis as well as a C-Leg.  There was Matthew, an arm amputee and native of Seattle, who wore the DynamicArm system.  There was also Brad, a former Alabama National Guard member turned prosthetist, who was wearing a Compact knee unit for the show.  All of these great people have a wonderful story about how the products they wear have changed and improved the quality of their lives dramatically. 

One of the other interesting parts of being in Seattle for the AOPA show was when we were able to get out and see the town.  For those who have never been to Seattle many of the streets along the waterfront are quite steep.  We walked to a restaurant for dinner one night on a very steep cobblestone alley near the Pike Place Fish Market.  What a great opportunity to test the capability of my C-Leg!  I navigated the street with no problems, maintaining a conversation with my companions while comfortably traversing this hazardous road.  As difficult as the walking was I was prepared to catch someone in the event that one of my able bodied friends tripped. 

As quickly as it began the show was over, the booths were taken down, and everyone was headed back to their respective lives.  It is my hope that new relationships and bonds were formed at this show.  I hope that some were enlightened by some new technology that will improve the lives of patients.  I also hope that future AOPA shows will be as successful and enjoyable as Seattle 2009. 

Now it’s back into the swing of things.  Until next time. 

Nate

Otto Bock HealthCare pays Nate a small fee for his essays.