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'I have no recollection of having two legs' | 'I have no recollection of having two legs' |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Pyers Symon thinks of himself as always having had one legHeather Mills's appearance on the US version of Strictly Come Dancing is not exploitation or naked publicity seeking, but a model of how active some amputees can be, says Pyers Symon in our Readers' Column. | |
Am I disabled? I have a blue badge which proves it, although I hope that the authorities didn't notice that I once cycled to collect it. | Am I disabled? I have a blue badge which proves it, although I hope that the authorities didn't notice that I once cycled to collect it. |
I lost my leg more than 40 years ago, as a small boy, after developing meningococcal meningitis. A rapid amputation was necessary. It was either that or die. | I lost my leg more than 40 years ago, as a small boy, after developing meningococcal meningitis. A rapid amputation was necessary. It was either that or die. |
Unlike Heather Mills, and many others, I have no recollection of having two legs. I have - as far as I am concerned anyway - always had one leg. This is me. This is how I have always lived. | Unlike Heather Mills, and many others, I have no recollection of having two legs. I have - as far as I am concerned anyway - always had one leg. This is me. This is how I have always lived. |
I do often wonder what I would have been like with two legs, but not regretfully Pyers Symon, 49, from Worcester Inspiration or irritation? I don't look at tasks and think "what can't I do?" but ask instead "how can I do this?". Apart, that is, from those irritating tasks that anyone sensible should avoid and I have every intention of persuading someone else to do - like digging the garden or climbing up ladders to clear gutters. | I do often wonder what I would have been like with two legs, but not regretfully Pyers Symon, 49, from Worcester Inspiration or irritation? I don't look at tasks and think "what can't I do?" but ask instead "how can I do this?". Apart, that is, from those irritating tasks that anyone sensible should avoid and I have every intention of persuading someone else to do - like digging the garden or climbing up ladders to clear gutters. |
I enjoy swimming and, no, I don't swim in circles because I am kicking with only one leg. Cycling is surprisingly easy - I was taught by my mother at the age of 19. She wanted to give me independence and herself fewer taxi duties. | I enjoy swimming and, no, I don't swim in circles because I am kicking with only one leg. Cycling is surprisingly easy - I was taught by my mother at the age of 19. She wanted to give me independence and herself fewer taxi duties. |
Cycling can also be a lot less painful than walking, especially in warm weather. I have even, for one wonderful hour, piloted a light aircraft. | Cycling can also be a lot less painful than walking, especially in warm weather. I have even, for one wonderful hour, piloted a light aircraft. |
Immense revolution | Immense revolution |
Legs have changed so much in the past 46 years - they have improved vastly over that period, from limbs which would have not looked out of place for victims of the Somme to modern computer-aided designs. | Legs have changed so much in the past 46 years - they have improved vastly over that period, from limbs which would have not looked out of place for victims of the Somme to modern computer-aided designs. |
Heather Mills has been the centre of attentionBuilt of light materials that emanated from the aerospace industry, with bonded carbon fibre and strong alloys, these - NHS - legs allow me a pretty natural gait, albeit one a bit like a drunken rabbit. | Heather Mills has been the centre of attentionBuilt of light materials that emanated from the aerospace industry, with bonded carbon fibre and strong alloys, these - NHS - legs allow me a pretty natural gait, albeit one a bit like a drunken rabbit. |
The legs are not perfect and I have to watch my weight so that the socket doesn't become tight, but shouldn't everyone? | The legs are not perfect and I have to watch my weight so that the socket doesn't become tight, but shouldn't everyone? |
I do often wonder what I would have been like with two legs, but not regretfully - if I hadn't had my leg amputated I would have been very dead indeed. | I do often wonder what I would have been like with two legs, but not regretfully - if I hadn't had my leg amputated I would have been very dead indeed. |
I sometimes wistfully wonder would I have met my wife? Would I have had three delightful, polite, undemanding, eloquent horrors of teenagers? Would I have become a runner like my father who ran for Cambridge? | I sometimes wistfully wonder would I have met my wife? Would I have had three delightful, polite, undemanding, eloquent horrors of teenagers? Would I have become a runner like my father who ran for Cambridge? |
And yet if I'm honest, I might as well try to imagine being a fish, or a bat or something that I am not. It is pointless - and possibly dangerous - doing these "what if" scenarios. I am me. | And yet if I'm honest, I might as well try to imagine being a fish, or a bat or something that I am not. It is pointless - and possibly dangerous - doing these "what if" scenarios. I am me. |
The design of prosthetic legs has been radically changedThere has been humour. I still remember the astonished look from a student when the dart he had just thrown ended up in my leg. I casually pulled it out. I only told the chap much later the reason why it didn't hurt. | The design of prosthetic legs has been radically changedThere has been humour. I still remember the astonished look from a student when the dart he had just thrown ended up in my leg. I casually pulled it out. I only told the chap much later the reason why it didn't hurt. |
My all-time favourite had to be the knee mechanism jamming during my wedding rehearsal, prompting dark mutterings between myself and my future wife. There was deep puzzlement from the vicar. | My all-time favourite had to be the knee mechanism jamming during my wedding rehearsal, prompting dark mutterings between myself and my future wife. There was deep puzzlement from the vicar. |
And I have promised my wife that I will stop parking in disabled spaces and then leap-frogging over the nearest bollard - at least while she is looking. | And I have promised my wife that I will stop parking in disabled spaces and then leap-frogging over the nearest bollard - at least while she is looking. |
And in case anyone's wondering, I hate dancing. | And in case anyone's wondering, I hate dancing. |
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