They were gone, now they are hers again.
“But I’m very active. I teach baton. Do you think I’ll be able to go back to twirling?”
“Maybe. You’ll just have to see. You need to take it one day at a time. You’ll have one leg that has all of its function even though it has a metal hip joint. Your thigh muscle may be a little weak but you should be
able to offset at least some of that by conditioning. The other foot will have most of the function even if it is artificial. The muscles in your lower leg can power the artificial ankle joint. You’ll be in a lot better shape than you think. George is worse off right now because he doesn’t have a working ankle on the one foot. You should walk a lot better than he or I do and he and I have only had a short time to learn. That was the toughest thing for me. In those videos, I was walking with two artificial feet which had no movement. Like I told you, at first it was like trying to walk with casts on both feet.”
“Do you really know what happened to me?”
“I think. Doc filled us in a little before we came up.”
“Would you, do you mind if I show you? I couldn’t even show my mom when she came in. My husband wanted to look but I wouldn’t let him. I’m so embarrassed. I need to get over it. I know you’ll understand even if nobody else does. Maybe showing you will help me.”
“Sure I’ll understand. I was embarrassed too. It was almost as if I had done something wrong to deserve being hurt. It was like everyone would stare because I was deformed. I even covered my lap to hide the fact I had no legs. You’ll get over it in time.”
“Let me show you what happened. The truck ran over my left foot.”
Janice pulled the sheet to the side to expose the leg that had no foot. The skin had been pulled over the end and sutured. There was no pin as there had been with Kathy’s amputation. “My uncle says I need more surgery. I really believe him but I don’t understand.”
“You need it so we can attach the prosthesis the same way mine was handled and so the muscles can be hooked to the foot to move it. If this isn’t done, the prosthesis will just functionally be a support. You’ll have to pull it with you. I’d have never been able to walk in so short a time without the advance in the muscle attachment.”
“So you say I should have the surgery?”
“Do you want to take a shot at walking nearly normal or do you want to work hard to just get by?”
“OK, you convinced me on this leg. All I need is a foot. What about the other one?” With that she pulled the sheet off the right side to show the lower portion of her body which just stopped where the leg should be. “What do they do with that? I’ve got so much missing. I can’t sit straight without a pillow under the right side. It’s sore and uncomfortable.”
“Doc says he can put in a metal hip joint. We’ll fix your muscles so they power it. Your leg will be attached to the metal hip joint, the blood supply will be hooked to you and your nerves will be powered through a computer. That’s my job, the computer. The leg will work. First, you need the surgery.”
“He says he wants to do it tomorrow.”
“The sooner the better now that you can tolerate it.”
“Tell him I’m ready.”
They talked for a while then Kathy got up, “I’ve got to get going, I have another appointment.”
Kathy turned and left. At the nurse’s station she called Dr. Western and relayed the news. Janice would be going for surgery the next morning.
Kathy’s Legs: Chapter One, The Accident
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