Ownership, and Welcome Cobber

[allenuk]

Headoncollider (nice name) said this, on another topic:

"As the owner of this group stated to me upon membership confirmation, "THIS GROUP IS FOR AMPS ONLY". I fully intend to respect that and hope all others will do so too"

Only to say that the "ownership" is very much a nominal thing (and in fact I set up the board jointly with Stonecutter on behalf of the rest of the gang, so not as the usual ego-trip!).

Proboards wouldn't have allowed us to have 70 owners (or however many members we now have), but that's the way it actually works. We all keep an eye on the board, and although we have an 'open-door' policy for new members, I think we would ALL jump on abusers pretty quickly.

And in fact we do have one or two non-amp members - Mom2Noble, for example. Her little lad, now about 6, lost his lower leg as the result of a home accident, and she tells us of his progress and asks for advice. And Ted Trower, a US CPO (chartered prosthetist) - I'm not sure whether he's an amp or not, actually, but his professional advice is always invaluable.

You are VERY welcome here, headon, and I know you're going to help us build this site for the benefit of all those amputees (along with their carers and families).

Allen, bka, old, not very wise, London.

[msalicia48]

allenuk i appreciate your response to the membership request and i respect the fact that you questioned how i needed to identify myself and what was my reason for interest to this website. I am a truly new amputee and i respect this site cause there are ppl that would rather keep conversations confidential and i would like to know a bit more on other groups i can find for the moral support and physical as well. I currently do not have a support group to connect with here at home in Detroit,Mi , nor do i know of anyone that can assist me with some personal issues that are in the same situation as myself. However i did use to bowl with a guy that was an amputee but it seems that once i became this way all connection just broke off and now i'm in limbo of what or who i can join with to get through this ordeal, cause it is a hard predicament to be in and no one else around you can relate cause they are not in this way to even imagine on how to cope with the idea of being an amputee. So thanks again for allowing me to be connected with people like myself and knowing how long it seems some of the members have been an amputee and know the ropes and forums to participate with........( Sincerely appreciated) msalicia48

[cherylm]

Alicia, Allen and Stonecutter have done quite a nice job of giving us a comfortable, "ego-free" place for folks to gather...we're probably among the most low-key sites around. Many of us were members of a previous site that had some "problems" with invading spammers and a single owner who was going through some personal problems and sort of lost control of the site. That's one of the reasons that we see ourselves as a sort of communal ownership group...with two "official" owners and all the rest of us as sort of "assistant owners," there's a good chance that someone will be around to keep things running in any type of "emergency." So thanks, guys...I don't know if I've ever told you how much you're appreciated!

Alicia, I was stunned to find out that I couldn't track down a support group in Detroit for you! However, there may be one out there that I've missed...and I did find a number of other Michigan support groups. Perhaps one of them would be within traveling distance for you. If you have not yet discovered the site for the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA), check out this link: www.amputee-coalition.org/ and look under their Peer Services menu for a listing of Michigan support groups. Another possible resource for you through the ACA might be their peer visitor program...if you contact them, they may have someone in your area who could visit with you. I'm a certified Peer Visitor in California...we're matched with new or prospective amputees who are, if possible, about the same age, amputation type and level, and gender as the person asking for a peer visit.

It's just reassuring to be able to talk with someone more "experienced" who understands what a new amputee is going through. I became a Peer Visitor, in fact, because I went through the first few months of my time as an amputee without knowing anyone I could talk to about the "specifics" of living life one-legged. When I finally DID meet an amputee who was comfortable sharing his experiences and tips with me, it was SUCH a relief! So when I found out about the Peer Visitors program, I knew that was something I wanted to do in order to help other folks in the same situation.

[stonecutter]

Just one note on the whole 'ownership' of the forums thing... We (everyone who are members here) are all co-owners. Allen and I are at your service as administrators - and that's just simply because we can't make everyone admins...

Hope you all enjoy the site - and remember - we are always open for ideas for improvements.

[abair01]

Great way to put it!