Use of this forum

[rg8]

Is anybody using this forum?  Either I have too much time on my hands, or there is a definite lack of enthusiasm among our members.                                                                                                                                                                                           Ruy

[snowyh]

Not too busy these days, I'll admit. I think folks look to Facebook these days to find groups of like-minded people. The benefits of this forum, as I see it, are:
1) Information is organized by general topic and posts have headers, making it easier to find what you're looking for. Many threads are overflowing with good advice, and they'll still be there for future members to view, even if the original posters are no longer active.
2) Administrators are actively monitoring the forum. Spam is removed. Off-topic posts are relocated to the appropriate areas.

Thank you for your interest, rg8--I have noticed & appreciated how active you are on the forum.

Helen

[rg8]

Thank you, Helen. I just thought there would be more exchange of ideas, different perspectives, and some motivation to hear what other amputees have to say.

[snowyh]

This group started when a former forum, moderated by Canadian ex-paralympian Ian Gregson, closed in 2009. It had been very active and loosely moderated, with occasional fireworks between members, but excellent participation. When it closed suddenly (and may wonderful threads were lost), Trevor/"stonecutter" and Allen/"allenuk" quickly set up this forum and invited anyone from that forum to join. Facebook didn't yet have groups, and there were only a few active amputee forums around the internet; ergo, much more participation here. These days, I don't think people look much further than Facebook, which is why participation has fallen off. But the archives are still relevant and of value for future amputees who stumble across us.

We have a lot of looky-loos who visit us daily (just check the number of Guests v Members), but have not joined. The forum is open to all and we welcome those who choose to read even though they don't contribute.

Helen

[rg8]

Thanks, Helen! Your explanation makes a lot of sense. We all have so much to contribute to each other, as everyone's experience is unique to their situation, yet at the same time others can learn a great deal from experiences that are different yet similar to their's. I am a retired physician and during my career I provided what I think was excellent intra op and post op care (I practiced anesthesia). Unfortunately, once they were discharged from the hospital, I had no further follow-up with patients and much to my regret, I had no idea how difficult life becomes once you are "cut loose". Since my accident almost 18 months ago, I now realize how wrong I was thinking that patients were being taken care of better. That is the reason I have become very outspoken and active in trying to improve people's lives. I have found that the most painful process is more psychological than physical and if I can provide even a small token of comfort or a "feel-good" moment, I may feel I have accomplished something. That is my rationale for the sailing program, that I with the help of my amputee mentor have put together. We are working diligently in making this experience safe and fun, to quote from "The Wind and the Willow": " ...there is nothing, but absolutely nothing half as much worth doing as messing about in boats"

[stonecutter]

rg8 - if it's worth anything - I can tell you with 100% certainty that I appreciate those members of the surgical teams who quite literally held my life in their hands while I was under for all of my surgeries - the anesthetists. The pre-sleep comfort to calm my nerves, the explanations of what's happening, the "you may be nervous but we do this all the time..." -- all of which helped to ease my mind moments before going to sleep before a life-altering procedure.

Anesthetists are the unsung heroes. The bone-guys who operate the saw and the plastics guys who sew you up/administer skin grafts, etc. - their work remains seen for the rest of our days, but those days would have been zero if it weren't for your work!

So... props to you, my friend.

Sorry you had to join our club!

[rg8]

Trevor, you don't need to apologize, accidents do happen and if truth be told, I have met some of the most awesome people BECAUSE I now have an amputation. That sounds really terrible, it's not that I wanted to have my leg cut off so I could have some friends, but since the accident, like I said, I've met the nicest people in the limb loss/limb difference community; extremely supportive, some very knowledgeable on how to navigate the intricacies of prostheses, physical therapists, etc. As far as doctors are concerned, thanks for your kind words, while I practiced anesthesia, I took care of many patients that required an amputation and my goal was to keep these patients as pain free as possible, and more importantly, with the use of techniques that minimized the use of opioids. Thank to the development of new local anesthetics and new techniques, I was capable of providing pain free recovery for 5 to 8 days. By the time the local anesthetic wore off, these patients would be able to take care of mild pain using Tylenol or Ibuprofen. I don't want to sound boastful, but I always believed that waking up from anesthesia should be no more than waking up from a nice restful sleep and for the most part I achieved a fairly good success rate. Unfortunately, I was hospital based, so once they were discharged I had no way of following up and I thought their care (at least here in the US) would be better than what I experienced. I will not go into details but my experience was awful at best, I am truly ashamed on how our medical system treat us. On the other hand, I have had some amazing medical and ancillary medical personnel that have gotten me back on track. Thanks again for your kind words Ruy