Horse Therapy-the horse who started it all: Cherokee
What can I say, I LOVE horses! I have always loved horses, just seeing them makes me smile. Yet as a girl growing up in the suburbs of Chicago I was never around any horses. The attraction is a mystery.
Never in my WILDEST dreams could I have imagined that at my age I would be surrounded by them every single day, training them, getting certified to train them, grooming them and now bringing a therapy to the public in which the horses becomes the teacher.
They are incredible creatures with so much to offer.
My journey began after my amputation and with the horse you see pictured above. Even though I was only around him for 30-45 minutes, the impact he made on my life was the most profound experience I have ever felt! Not only did my amputation change the trajectory of my life, now horses were a part of this ever changing path.
Now after 4 years of learning and teaching, observing and making mistakes, I am ready to bring this mental healing to others, and I AM EXCITED!!!
CONNECTION
BEING PRESENT
TRUST
The benefits of just being in proximity to horses is incredible! The healing they can bring to our lives is unmatched.
I hope that one day you, too, can feel the healing power of horses in your life, and I would love to be the one to take you there.
Join me on this new journey that I never, EVER saw coming a mere 5 years ago.
Let’s work together and heal ourselves through the eyes of a horse.
I pray you have a beautiful week and a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Like life itself, being an amputee throws you curveball after curveball, no matter how seasoned you are.
My time is now, I guess.
I am almost six years out from my amputation, life has been great! I have been traveling, active, enjoying mobility and no (knock on wood) phantom pains worthy of discussion. This is the good stuff! I’m living my best life!
Monday’s walk…pre-pain
Enjoying island life
Monday, however, with our weather being nice and cool in the mornings, I took my pups for a walk. About one mile in I noticed an aching in my femur. Never had that before. Very curious.
At 1 1/4 miles, however, I as limping and trying to keep pressure of my limb and socket. Once I got home and sat for a minute the pain was gone, but I could recreate it by moving my socket around.
Now, I know my limits and I know how to push myself so, of course, I went for a walk the next morning.
And you guessed it, I was in pain again, in the same place on my leg. This time I cut my walk a little shorter.
I have never had this before. So I did what I needed to do. I began going through a process of elimination for what I was feeling.
First off, I was checking my residual limb that night for bruising or soreness when I touched the area in question. It feels bruised.
I had no redness or swelling.
I had no rash or blisters.
I checked my weight, only down a few pounds, but that’s not uncommon.
I am noticing some tripping off my toes lately which could indicate that my prothesis might be dropping some when I pick up my leg when walking.
My best guess is that for some odd reason, six years in, I am having some volume change, or shape change, to my residual limb (which is weird since I haven’t changed anything in my routines nor have I been traveling the past couple of weeks). This would explain bruising as I may be banging around in my socket because of excess room.
My worst case scenario is a possible bone spur, which would cause pain on the bone and can happen at anytime after amputation. This would suck because I’d have to have surgery to remove them.
So, for now, I will NOT take to social media to find answers because my medical team and I know my situation best.
I will NOT worry, because that doesn’t help and is a waste of time.
The Limb Center: I have these guys in my corner.
I have called my prosthetist and let him know what I’m feeling, when I’m feeling it, and where the pain is coming from. I will be seeing him soon to check out my fit of my socket and making some educated guesses with the person who has seen me through to this point.
From there we will formulate a plan to reduce/eliminate the problem.
If you are like me, and are dealing with an unusual circumstance with your residual limb.
If you are feeling scared or worried about what might be causing your trouble, here is your Call to Action:
Please don’t ask the keyboard warriors on your social media feed!
Please process what you are seeing, feeling, and noticing that is different than before with your residual limb and/or socket.
Make notes.
Call your medical team: orthopedic surgeon, prosthetist, and/or physical therapist and get their help.
And please, whatever you do, don’t waste time worrying about what it could be. Just remember that you were strong enough to get to where you are now, and you will be stronger still as you navigate this (what may be your first of MANY issues as an amputee) hurdle.
Remember to breathe, step back from your situation, make logical observations and talk to your medical team.
Breathing is an automatic response by our body, it knows that we can’t survive without oxygen, but have you ever noticed your breathe being shallow or worse yet, you held your breathe?
We tend to do this in times of stress, anxiety and fear, and yes, we all face some sort of and some level of these moments on a daily basis.
We are actually depriving ourselves of the one thing our body needs to stay alive!
Now, take that and add in the frustration, pain, and uncertainty of losing a limb and trying to “get back to your life”. Also add in, for some of you, the anger you feel if accident or sickness took your limb away and the choice of living a life as an amputee wasn’t up to you. That’s pretty harsh, right?
But, we are stronger than we know. Our bodies and our minds are more resilient than we understand.
We must really make the effort to push forward.
I named this podcast Be-YOU-tiful Adaptive Warrior because 1) I believe we all have a warrior spirit, 2) that we are beautiful just as we are (no matter how many limbs we have) and 3) we are adaptive beings, no matter what is thrown at us, we are capable of adaptation.
The time is now to live in the moment. Realize that you and your life, no matter what you’re going through, are a miracle and capable of great things.
Now is the time to enjoy your life and press onward and FORWARD! No use in looking back if it’s just going to cause you pain, stress, and frustration. What’s done is done.
Now we live.
Now we rise up.
Now we embrace our journey, set goals, crush goals and REPEAT!!
You are special and you are strong enough! So rise up, Warriors, and live your best life!
Now what?
Ask yourself, “AM I ready to live my life again?”
If the answer is “No”, what is holding you back? You need to address those issues first, just don’t let fear be the reason. We all live with certain fears, the difference: those that press through their fears find the reward of facing them by experiencing a full life.
If your answer is “Yes, I’m ready”, then your next step is to decide what it is that you want to do, where you want to go, what you want to see, and what you want to try.
Make a list.
Decide which ones are plausible now and start creating steps you need to reach that goal and then….
BEGIN TODAY!!
If you want to surf, then you need to build core strength, work on balance, get a surf leg, practice popups on your floor in your house, etc, etc, etc.
Every goals has steps to get to the goal. Break yours down into bite sized pieces and start getting after it.
Remember, you are a miracle, your life is a miracle.
Be present, and enjoy your life. You’ll be so glad you did!!
Write to me and tell me how it’s going, I’d love to hear from you!
