We make millions of decisions in life!

As we make decisions in our lives we see that there are always consequences. Most are good consequences and some are bad. Making decisions has been described as exercising a muscle. The more decisions we make, the better we get at it and we tend to make less mistakes and become stronger as a result. These decisions have applicability in every facet of our lives. To identify just a few:

·         in organizational events,

·         corporate teams at work,

·         sports activities,

·         families,

·         friendships,

·         neighborhoods,

·         coworkers,

·         communities,

·         political and religious organizations,

·         service groups and on and on.

After my amputation, I read a most alarming statistic that shows 70% of transfemoral amputees with vascular problems will die within two to five years. This is much higher than the five-year mortality rates for breast, colon, and prostate cancer. When I read this statistic, it blew me away! The alarms went off and my thoughts became focused on what I could do to improve my chances of surviving, but most important, enjoy an abundant and adventurous life.

Prior to amputation and back fusion surgery, I took walking for granted. I rarely had to even think about it---it was just automatic. Now, before anything else, I needed to relearn how to walk.  At first, I was unfazed by the medical staff’s suggestion that this would be very difficult. I guess you could say I was over-confident in my ability to tackle this task.

My first prosthesis was a mechanical device, as opposed to one with a microprocessor like I have today. The mechanical prosthesis did not provide resistance in the knee area unless it was in the straight or locked position.

I quickly learned, after my first attempt to walk with a mechanical prosthetic leg, how hard it was. My confidence was suddenly and severely shattered. The emotion of failure was all I could think of. Simply negotiating stairs put me into a cold sweat. The mental activity of convincing myself I could do this, and I will, was intense. Feelings of inadequacy and imminent failure were overwhelming. I was at a crossroads and needed to make some decisions. At times, I was so discouraged that I thought about not using a prosthesis.

Thankfully, including my therapists, my “We” and “Us” collective group would not allow me to give up and bolstered me in making the decision to pursue this adventure with everything I had. I discovered the requirement to focus on every, single, step, I took.  I am not kidding! This may sound excessive, but If I didn’t, I could easily fall to the ground. Additionally, I would have to pay attention to various details with every, single, step.

Let me give you an idea of what it’s like. First, I had to plant my prosthetic heel on the ground after advancing my left leg. Next, I had to feel to make sure the device was in the locked position. Once I felt the security, I could shift my weight to my left stump and then would pull it backwards using my hamstring, gluteus, and core muscles. Without a knee and quadriceps muscles for balance, stability, and propulsion, walking down even slight grades---they say is like riding a unicycle downhill. My understanding is that is extremely difficult to do.

Now that I was having success with this new process of making note of every step, slowly, my thoughts began to move toward other aspects of my life. I began to analyze for example, how my own words, body posture, expressions, thoughts, and deeds could affect others either positively or negatively. I was particularly concerned with how my behavior affected those in my “We” and “Us” collective group. I became acutely aware of the need to pause before I spoke or acted, so I could fully consider the impact my words and actions would have on others. If I could focus on every step and all the various details, I could certainly make the decisions to focus on and be aware of my every action, thought, deed, and words.

How grateful I am to all those who have assisted and supported me in making decisions in my life. This sojourn we call life is definitely a team oriented activity!