I'm not an advocate for disability issues. Human issues are what interest me. You can't possibly speak for a diverse group of people. I don't know what it's like to be an arm amputee, or have even one flesh-and-bone leg, or to have cerebral palsy.
The other night I was playing twister with some amputees.
I've had journalists asking me, 'What do we call you - is it handicapped, are you disabled, physically challenged?' I said, 'Well hopefully you could just call me Aimee. But if you have to describe it, I'm a bilateral below-the-knee amputee. '
Percy’d heard stories about amputees who had phantom pains where their missing legs and arms used to be. That’s how his mind felt—like his missing memories were aching.
If the legs did provide such an advantage that some of the people are claiming they did, then there would be a lot more amputees using the exact same prosthetic legs I have, running the exact same times I have - and that's not the case.
It's an objective fact that I am a double amputee, but it's very subjective opinion as to whether that makes me disabled.
The injured runner is like a recent amputee victim, continually forgetting that the limb isn't there, crestfallen at each realization. What we need more than anything is a suitable prosthetic and an attitude adjustment.
If I ever saw an amputee getting hanged, I'd probably just start calling out letters.
