Our New Normal!

“Helping Others Discover and Live an Unlimited Lifestyle.”

Welcome to our Dankmeyer blog!! My name is Dawn Miranda, and I am a new amputee of only three years (12/2/2016). I hope this blog page will answer your questions, uplift you through education, and inspire hope that we will get to our new normal together. 

April- Things I wish I had known when I became an amputee; Life adjustments and finding your new normal.

Welcome back! I hope everyone is learning and enjoying the topics.  Happy Limb Loss Awareness Month! I also want to remind you that I always welcome topic suggestions from you. Just email me at dawn@dankmeyer.com and I am happy to explore and discuss your topics of concerns, or joys.

I wanted to touch on a subject that has affected each and every one of us - the COVID-19 pandemic. This has swept in and changed all of our lives in a short amount of time. I know the stay at home order we have been under has caused so much stress in so many different ways. I would like to remind you I am here to talk by phone, virtual chat, email or text, to try and answer your amputee questions and provide support during this difficult time. Self-isolation creates so many emotions for each of us, particularly amputees who may be trying to work through their own version of “new normal”.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out and make that connection with me as we are all in this together. Dankmeyer is here for each and every one of you during this hard time. 

I was going to change my April blog to center around these changes, but I decided to push forward with this month’s topic.  I have been thinking a lot about things I wish I had known when I first became an amputee.   I have learned so much about myself and how I handled all the changes when I became an amputee.  All of the adjustments we make are not just on the new equipment that is now attached to our bodies, but includes the mindset needed to make us successful as new amputees. One of the first things I had to learn was that I was not going to let my new body part define me!  I was not going to let a piece of equipment tell me what I was going to be able to do or not be able to do. I think the mental part of amputation is the hardest, because we can, with the help of our doctors, our physical therapists and prosthetist learn how to use and take care of this new, very foreign piece of equipment that we now need to rely on. 

The mind ….  let’s talk about that, that gray mysterious matter that sits protected in our skulls - now that’s a powerful thing. If you remember back in school, good old Biology, our teachers told us all about the wonders of the brain. How it is our center for happiness, sadness, pain, left brain, right brain, artistry, musicality, breathing, - it all is controlled by the brain. It literally can help us to be successful or fail at something, if we listen. I know you wonder - what does this have to do with success as a new amputee?  Well, I think mindset has everything to do with our success! 

I have learned there is nothing I can’t do now as an amputee.  There are things I had long given up on that I now do, there are things I have never done that I can and will learn to do. YOU can do this too, as long as you take all the power your brain has and direct it to being driven to not give up as an amputee. Have I fallen! Oh my goodness, yes! I have had epic falls and picked myself up and healed and went at it again. I have learned we all have falls in our lives, whether you are an amputee or you have two non-prosthetic legs! Falls are falls and we must get up! We did as babies when we learned to walk, we did as kids when we learned to ride bikes, we did as young adults when we lost our first jobs, and we do as we age. Our legs, whether flesh and bone, or flesh and metal, (or even in an emotional fall),  we can fall….it’s the getting back up that really counts. 

You can choose to stay sitting on the ground or you can make the effort to get up! I had to learn this mental part. No one really told me that the hardest part would be the mental part. I have had days in the past and will have days in the future when I will feel a bit defeated, but it is on those days that I am determined to take control of the negative thoughts and push forward, instead of fall back. I could give you lists a mile long of amputee tips and tricks, but I think I know the biggest thing I can give you is to suggest that you strengthen your mindset.  Look at your day as seconds, minutes, and hours and look for your one, yes one positive thing, you did to try and reach your goal of getting to a better, stronger you. 

One of the first things we need to do every morning is put our shoes on. (Ours just happen to have a leg attached to it, or maybe it’s both your legs, maybe it’s your arm.) The point is to create a routine that is the one you want to do. Every day you overcome a challenge, pat yourself on the back… we have to be proud of ourselves first and foremost.  

If you didn’t put yourself first before your amputation, Do It NOW! The things I wish I knew when I became an amputee are: to love my new self, be proud of the little things in my new life, and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. When someone says, “Gee, I am sorry that you lost your (fill in the blank)!”, tell them not to be sorry, because you’re alive and going to be better than ever.  In my case, I gave up something that slowly was painfully taking away the life I wanted to live.  Now I have a second chance, and I am going to give it my all! Because after all, not everyone gets a second chance. Create that positive mindset for yourself.  If you read the Patient Stories on our website, this is a similar train of thought in many of the stories!

Quote of the month- “The first step is you say I can!” - Will Smith

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.