Welcome to August! This month will be an information packed blog as we celebrate the Amputee Coalition’s first virtual annual conference! This year’s annual meeting was originally scheduled to take place live in Washington, DC. The revised virtual convention was held August 19-22, 2020.
While we are still in this COVID-19 pandemic we are learning to navigate important events that would have taken place in person and now must be presented online. There is a benefit to this - it does open the door for more people to be able to attend and cross the distances of our country to our beautiful Washington, DC area, without the cost of travel and hotel. I had planned on attending in person before COVID changed all of that - so I signed up for this first time virtual event and was looking forward to see what the conference would hold for all the amputee virtual attendees from across the country.
The Mission statement for the conference was “The Power Of You!”. The call to action rang clear as the first night started with the opportunity to network with peers and professionals in a virtual meeting room. What a great experience I had meeting new people and seeing old friends! I found it easy to choose a table and open our discussions with brief stories about who we are and what we want to learn from all the events that were being offered. That virtual meeting room countdown came all to soon to join the opening ceremony, which went off beautifully. It started with Mary Richards, CEO of the Amputee Coalition. Her energy was upbeat and her message that we are not alone and everyone at the Coalition is there to provide us education, support and genuine care was genuine. If we all discover the power inside us, we can create an energy that will carry us to greatness.
The keynote speakers came on and wow! what great messages of strength and power. John Register never lets us feel down and with his words of support creates an internal energy that gives us that “I can do this”, “We are not alone” feeling. Angel Giuffria gave us updates on how amputees are making strides in the acting community. We are being seen and appreciated for the talents we have as people, not just as amputees. The final portion of the evening’s events was the exhibit hall where you could see all the vendors. You could set up a time to live chat with them to hear all the innovation each has to offer to new and existing amputees to help them achieve their goals.
After this opening, I was looking forward to see what Thursday’s events would bring. And we discovered that there was one other very fun thing you could do during the convention 24/7, and that was Live Guided Yoga! Of course, this was on my schedule. Whether it was the first time you were trying this or you were a pro, when I did it, it was a lot of fun and educational!
Thursday I attended a session on navigating the pandemic, and it was very insightful. The main goal was to learn coping skills - how to adapt and finally to overcome the stresses everyone is feeling today. The speaker gave us five easy steps to follow. Self-monitoring is the first step to assess ourselves. We need to ask - are we sleeping? Are we getting some exercise? Am I feeling depressed or do I feel that I exhibit signs of clinical depression? Recognizing all of these will help us make adjustments to our daily lives and seek help if we cannot seem to get our feelings or stress to a balanced place.
The next suggestion is “Do something you enjoy”. Schedule a time each day that you do something you love. This could be reading, listening to music, or going for a walk. The most important thing is to plan something that gives you joy. The third (which I follow becauseI feel it is so important for me), is to limit my daily dose of the news and negative media. It is shoved at us from every angle and can trigger anxiety. It is good to be factually informed, but there is so much fake news that it can consume and does divide people. So I turn it off, take a break - don’t let it take over your thoughts. “The news can be a blessing or a curse”.
I love the fourth suggestion, which is pick up your phone and call someone. I tell you that all the time! Make that human connection, talk to someone, laugh, listen. We all feel disconnected, but we all have tools at hand that can help us reach out and connect with someone. The last part to this topic is to make full use of all the resources at the Amputee Coalition. The AC website has a ton of great education and support topics to help us navigate through this pandemic. I am excited to share with you a fantastic free, interactive resource called PALS. This is an interactive program to help you manage your life after limb loss. It will help you explore the ways your life has changed and how you can learn to navigate your new normal. Click here to read more about the PALS - Amputee Life Sklls online program. You can take this class at your own pace in your home. I hope you take a look to see how it can help you in your daily life.
The topics the Coalition presented really took into consideration all of the things that new and existing amputees face. Pain management innovation offered all the options an amputee has to control their pain without relying on narcotics. These range from meditation to bio-feedback, and in more serious cases implantable devices. You do not have to suffer! Talk to your doctor and prosthetist and they will help you find solutions. There were many breakout groups where professionals and peers roundtable talked about solutions to a array of topics. Improving health and wellness and staying active after amputation was a favorite of mine. I learned early on after my amputation, the more you walk, the more you become one with your prosthesis. The Coalition site offers so much education year round everyone should take the opportunity to learn as much as they can. If you need to talk to someone, you can choose a peer call.
In another session, Carol Blymire taught how to tell our stories so we can connect with other amputees in our communities. And there was so much more! This conference was well put together and I personally learned so much. If you attended the conference for the small $20.00 registration fee, you will be able to access all of the conference material on the website in case you missed something or want to revisit a session. The closing ceremony offered us positive words to keep moving forward and be creative so that we will come through this pandemic strong. “The power of you!” resonated through this wonderful conference. I look forward to next year’s conference in Chicago and hope that we can attend in person. The Amputee Coalition has pledged to offer more virtual education through their website and I myself look forward to that!
Have blessed day!! Visit all our Dankmeyer website has to offer for education. Reach out to me by email at dawn@dankmeyer.com and I am happy to answer your email, give you a call or set up a telehealth session. I am only a click or call away.
These tips are informed suggestions. If you do not feel comfortable with them, please do not attempt them. Instead as always contact your medical professional or your prosthetist for help and advice.
If you have a question for me about living as an amputee, ask! And if I don’t know the answer, I will find it for you, and I will leave no stone unturned to help you find your own personal new normal. If there is a topic you would like me to feature please let me know! I want us all to grow strong together. Email me at Dawn@dankmeyer.com. This email is not secure, so if you wish to keep any specific health information private, you should call us!
Dawn Miranda recently joined Dankmeyer, Inc. as a Prosthetist Assistant after relocating from San Antonio, TX. To read more about Dawn on our Clinical Staff page, click here.
