To address the problem, we ask questions like, "well, what activities are you doing; what types of things are you doing in your life that are causing this; what's it limiting you from doing; what are your real goals?"
When I was in high school, I had a teacher, and he thought that I should go into prosthetics— I was 16 years old, so I thought, "this guy's kind of crazy,"—but he inspired me enough that I ended up going to school for biomedical engineering.
The way that prosthetics blends an artistic background and science together—and then you get to interface with people and do all of those things—it's a natural connection for me, and it's been a great and rewarding career.
We assess prosthetic care so much deeper than "well, there's a spot in the prosthesis that's causing pain." To address the problem, we ask questions like, "well, what activities are you doing; what types of things are you doing in your life that are causing this; what's it limiting you from doing; what are your real goals?"
My main advice for someone who has just lost a limb or maybe is using a prosthesis and feels like they're not getting the care that they should, or that there's something that's holding them back, is to realize that there is a choice.
You have a choice—you get to decide who provides the care for your prosthesis, where you get your prosthesis. Talk to people in the community, like your doctor. Talk to other people who are using a prosthesis—other amputees.
