Prosthetics are amazing. Aimee Mullins and Oscar Pistorius are living examples of how a disability can become an opportunity not just for success, but for super-human ability.
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Posted by
Carrie Davis on 02/23 at 04:35 PM
Hello Kyle,
Carrie Davis here. Interesting piece : though I’m not a wealthy socialite that mingles in high society, gets noticed and comes off as superior. It may have seemed like that from the article in Fast Company Magazine, but let me assure you, I’m an average girl who has dedicated my life to helping others who have lost limbs. My “Tiffany Ring” is a $10.00 sparkly gem on an elastic, stretchy band. The seemingly ridiculous attitude that I have regarding my prosthesis as a positive, beautiful aspect of myself is not ridiculous at all. In fact, it took me many years to get to a point where I was proud of the body that I came in, prosthesis and all.
Therefore, like I said, I have dedicated my whole life to helping others. I am a National Patient Advocate for Upper Extremity Patients seeking assistance. I have worked with kids, families, adults, soldiers, etc. to help them accept their bodies and work effectively with their prostheses. I write letters to insurance companies to help patients get funding for prostheses and once they receive them, I’m there every step of the way to offer moral support and guidance. When insurance doesn’t come through, I work to help try to find a way.
I also volunteer at a camp called Camp No Limits - a camp for kids with limb deficiencies. My goal is to catch kids before they decide their self-image based on their body image or what they don’t have versus the gifts, talents and heart that they do have. I’d invite you to check out the foundation www.nolimitfoundation.org. That “ridiculous positive attitude” and sense of pride in my body is one that I hope kids also grab on to, as well.
I’m also the National Coordinator for a volunteer organization called Amputee Empowerment Partners; a group of over 500 trained volunteers nationwide who also want to assist new amputees navigate the road to recovery. We just started a very unique e-community online specifically geared toward helping others.
My “bag of arms” has been compiled over 20+ years. I have an i-LIMB, yes, which I do think is pretty special, but I also have a cable operated hook that I wear regularly, as well. Do people perceive me differently when they see the hook hanging out of my sleeve versus the hand? Yes. Do I care? Not so much.
What I do care about is that people see me for who I am and what I’m about versus what I’m missing. The black i-LIMB starts conversations. The hook repels them. When I catch people staring at my hook, I invite a conversation, “Hey, I saw you were looking at my hook - do you have any questions? Would you like to know more about it?” Whether I want the attention or not, I get it and so I use it to benefit others, hopefully.
I thank you for noting that we are all working to improve the lives and well-being for those with the need for prostheses. It truly is my mission in life. I’m not a wealthy socialite. I’m a single mom to two amazing sons, living in a modest home, moving through life the best I can, hoping I can help people along the way.
My prosthesis and its price tag have very little to do with me. However, having access to all kinds of prostheses has allowed me to accomplish anything that I have set my sights on. Thanks to my prostheses and the great prosthetists that I have had the good fortune to work with in my life, I am able to do anything I want. I’ve always said that if you don’t have a hand, you don’t have an excuse, because there is a prosthesis or a terminal device that will allow me to do anything I can set my mind to - even, as one commenter wondered : scratch my…
Cheers Kyle.
Posted by
Kyle Munkittrick on 02/24 at 04:30 PM
Carrie, I am so glad you found this post and set the record straight. We spoke via email, but I’d like to apologize publicly as well for my errors in the post. Your story is far more interesting than that Fast Company article, let alone what I wrote. I hope you write a post or two for IEET. Lord knows we need some people who live in the real world to remind us why we’re writing about all this transhumanist stuff in the first place. Thanks so much for commenting, I can’t wait read more from you.
Posted by
Jackie Silvestro on 06/11 at 03:37 PM
Aimee Mullins and Oscar Pistorius are living examples of how a disability can become an opportunity for the very wealthy and/or sponsored. How many of us fall into that category? I’m a housewife in CO with two sons. I have medical insurance through my husband’s job that we pay thousands of dollars per year in premiums and thousands of dollars in “deductible and out of pocket expenses” and I still have to fight for my prosthetics each time I need one. The latest from the insurance company was when they decided to categorize the foot and socket on my prosthesis as ‘experimental’ even though they’d paid for the exact same type on my previous prosthesis. They make us jump through hoops.
I was lucky enough to have my insurance company approve a socket with suction, a newer development in prosthetics, which was the best thing to happen to me since I lost my leg in 1991. I was able to do so much more than before I had that type of socket, and with almost zero pain. I was able to join a gym and do cardio exercise for the first time in years, which led to me lose the 50 pounds I’d gained since losing my leg, hence the need for a new prosthesis, only this time what they approved a couple of years earlier was now “experimental” and not considered medically necessary. After the insurance company received a ‘not so happy’ letter I’d written to my prosthetist detailing my weight-loss, activity increase, better, easier mobility, decreased cholesterol level and blood pressure, lack of need for pain meds, they decided to approve the suction pump as well as the foot they were denying. They thought a foot that walked pretty much like a brick would be good enough.
I can’t imagine the companies that make these cutting edge, absurdly expensive prosthetics can be making much money on them, unless of course there are many extremely wealthy limb needing citizens that I’m not aware of. I can’t afford the cutting edge. Shoot, I can’t even afford the skin cover that would make my prosthesis look identical to my real leg as it costs approximately $23,000 for the skin alone, and the insurance company won’t touch that one! That’s more than the prosthesis! The prosthesis my insurance company will pay for anyway. I’d love to be able to put on a dress and heels and feel like I did before I lost my leg. My insurance company does not think that is ‘medically necessary.’
It makes zero sense to me that insurance companies will pay for total knee and hip replacements (those are prosthetics too) which are far more expensive than a prosthetic limb, but balk at paying for outer prosthetics, and want to cover just the bare minimums.
It’s great to hear of all the breakthroughs and advancements in the prosthetic world, but I can’t help but wonder when I do who exactly is benefiting from them. I lost my leg in ‘91 and have never had a running leg. I would LOVE to be able to run again, but I can barely get my walking leg paid for, you know there’s different legs for different activities, right? I also have a nearly 10 year old shower leg. Even when I do manage to get the insurance company to approve a new prosthesis it still costs me thousands of dollars in out of pocket expenses. Do I just not know the right people? Do I just not have the right connections?
I’m happy for Aimee Mullins and Carrie Davis. I applaud their “ridiculous positive attitudes,” which are not only admirable, but necessary. They deserve the prosthetics that they have, but so do I.
Boy can I relate to Carrie when she catches people staring at her arm. No matter how strong you are, it’s not fun when you see someone looking at you with what comes across as a repulsion. It’s not fun when the loss of your limb seems to be what people identify you as. I HATE the stares, especially the quick ‘look aways,’ when they realize they’ve been spotted. I WELCOME the questions. It’s different, it’s intriguing perhaps, and I understand and welcome the curiosity, yet I still view myself as a beautiful woman who appreciates, like any other woman, being seen and appreciated for who I am, and like Carrie stated, who I am is not what I’m missing.
I would love to be a National Patient Advocate for Lower Extremity Patients seeking assistance. I’m going to look into that, but in the meantime please remember that although all of the advancements in the prosthetic world make a great story, that’s all it’s really been for me as they are out of my league.
Posted by
lexica on 08/25 at 10:29 AM
I also have a nearly 10 year old shower leg. Even when I do manage to get the insurance company to approve a new prosthesis it still costs me thousands of dollars in out of pocket expenses. Do I just not know the right people? Do I just not have the right connections?
Posted by
Fyrefang on 10/04 at 12:04 AM
I’m a 16 year old girl with a below-the-knee amputation. I don’t mind people staring really. What bugs me is when people are too worried about offending me to ask questions. I am very good humored about my leg and love to answer their questions.
That’s beside the point, though. I hate the question, “Are you able to do this?”. Of course I am! Would I let my parents pay thousands of dollars for a prosthetic if it won’t allow me to do what any other teen girl can do? No way! I’d rather limp, crawl, and hop my way through life than have a leg that won’t give me the mobility I need.
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