MOST USED LEAST RECOGNIZED.
My WeThrive story begins July 6, 2016. The day that I became a 3 finger partial hand amputee. I remember laying in the hospital bed missing 60% of my right hand, wondering what life was going to be like going forward. I was the father, the husband and the breadwinner. I had family and friends come visit me but I never had an amputee come visit me. The doctors and nurses tell you that you will survive and go on. You will learn to adjust to your new way of life. They all had all of their fingers. They didn’t know my struggles. Early on it seemed that every one was only worried about their little slice of the pie.
I learned that I had to advocate for myself. I had to ask for the help that I was in need of. So with that I started reaching out knocking doors and talking to people. I knew that something was missing. I felt lost and as I started to talking to people. I learned that I wasn’t alone in my struggles. I began a quest to find myself and others and in doing so I learned that finger partial hand amputation is more than 90% of ALL upper limb amputations. Yet less than 5% will get a prosthesis. Wow I was one of the lucky ones. Have you ever sat down and really looked at your hand and fingers? They are amazing the way that they move and all that they do. A CPO friend says that we use our legs to get us around and we use our hands to do everything else. Hmm think about everything that you do with your hands. From the moment you wake up to the moment that you go to bed you are using them. Yet we take all that for granted until we loose them. We have two choices in life. To live it or to let it live us. I had an accident that changed my life completely but I have not let it stop me from living my life completely.
I have turned my lemons into lemonade and have turned my challenge into my passion for helping others and educating the world about finger partial hand amputation. That is how I “WeTrive” I challenge you to go out and show the world how you can. WeThrive