A new community, called Amputee Empowerment Partners , just started in February 2010, as a safe place for amputees and those they love to connect, share and understand each other. The site includes forums, blogs, videos and photos - and more- and there are already 400 members and counting. Membership is free. Members range from those who have been amputees for decades to those who recently became amputees, amputees who have diabetes to congenital amputees to veterans who are amputees, young and old.
I visited the site a few times and was touched by the warm support shown by members toward each other. It's easy to find and make new friends who have dealt with the same issues.
The resources are wonderful. I watched a video of a woman's first steps as an amputee with her prosthetic leg, read about sports and social outings and was able to find information on everything from adjusting to becoming an amputee to fine tuning one's life and self empowerment.
Below is a video called Walk Day:
Find more videos like this on Empowering Amputees
And here's one showing Heath, who is a bilateral above knee double amputee, cycling for the first time:
Find more videos like this on Empowering Amputees
The founder of the site is Carrie Davis, who has a congenital below-elbow limb deficiency and is an Upper Extremity patient advocate. Her mission is to provide real life information from people who really get it to empower amputees. She's created a site that does that.
I hope my readers will spread the word about this warm, strong and supportive community to amputees and those they love. As a person with friends who are amputees, I'll be visiting again and again.
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