Down, But Not Out

This week I had the privilege of attending and speaking at the Hanger Prosthetics Annual Conference and Exhibition.  This is the fourth year I’ve attended, and each year, I am amazed at the stories and courage of amputees.

This year, a meningitis survivor from Brazil, spoke with me during my session.  I first met Pedro two years ago.  He is a quad amputee, and was just learning how to use short prosthetic legs called stubbies.  Hearing Pedro speak, having his mom fly in from Brazil to hear her son, just was overwhelming.  This young man is now walking, has functional arm prosthetics, and is attending college.  He has a beautiful girlfriend and has gotten his life “back.”  He has what I call a “new normal” life.

To hear about his mental and physical fight to get where he is now, his ability to share funny anecdotes about his struggles along the way, were just so inspiring.  I hate that meningitis has done this to him, but I am so proud and grateful that science and wonderful prosthetics have given him back his life.