#but my dad is an above knee amputee and i know many amputees through him | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

panda-noosh · 7 years

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Heyo, you know Carl? Carl Grimes? How bout something angsty with him? Thanks in advance hun-buns, your writing is great

Words: 2494

Notes: Isthis angsty? I don't know. Enjoy!

It was funny.

You lived in aworld where a simple bite could end your life, and yet you had neverstopped long enough to think about what being bit actually felt like.

Was it painful? Wasit a relief? Did you suddenly lose all tact on the world, simplybecoming a shell known as a walker?

These questionsseemed reasonable enough to ask in your current situation. You livedamongst them. You had seen people lose their life, seen people turninto them right in front of you. But it was odd – you had neverwondered what it felt like.

Maybe it wasbecause you knew the outcome of it all anyway. They would die, comeback to life if you let them get that far. Usually the bite in itselfwas a good enough reason to pop a bullet in their skull, but therewas the odd person who turned a little too fast, the odd person whoyou could just simply not pull the trigger to.

At the end of theday, the outcome was always the same – death, and then more death.

Bites weren'texactly painful, you werefiguring out. They were more of a numb feeling. It was like you couldfeel the life draining out of you, in some ways. Like the bite itselfwas squeezing your life force out of you and replacing it with thedead soul you were soon to be inhabiting.

Nobodywas here to shoot you, and you wouldn't do it yourself. The gun laydeserted at your side, buried beneath a pile of leaves you had thrownyourself into after killing the thing that had just ripped a chunkout of your lower arm.

Itwasn't the worst place to be bit. Maybe that was your delusionsspeaking, or the fever hitting but there was something to be gratefulabout in the fact that your throat was still in one piece.

Sorry, Carl, youfind yourself thinking, feeling yourself drifting off into death. Itwas only a matter of time. They told you not to leave the house, andyet here you were – sitting against a tree in the middle of thewoods after insisting that you could do what you wanted.

Abranch snaps at the side of you. Usually, reflexes were your strongpoint. Any noise could be picked up in seconds and you were up andready to fight it before it had even taken another step towards you.This time, though, you simply lay numb, listening to the noise as itgets louder and louder, clapping against broken twigs and leaves.

Somebodywas running. Whoever it was better hurry up – this is gettingpainful.

“No!”

Thevoice makes you flinch – not because of the volume, but because ofthe owner of it.

Carlslides to a halt beside you, his knees scraping against the pile ofleaves you've settled in. Immediately his gun is dropped to the sideand his hands are cupping your cheeks, keeping them in place as hesearches for any more bites than the very, very obvious one throbbingon my lower arm.

“I'vegot you. It's okay. It's okay,” Carl coos. “Are you good? Can youkeep your eyes open?”

“I'vehonestly never been better,” you slur. “Finally getting out ofthis shit hole. Shame it had to be this way, I suppose.”

“Shutup,” Carl hisses. You strain your eyes to look at him, but all yousee is a blur. You can make out his silhouette – the long hair, thebloodied clothes, the hat – but that was about it. He might noteven be here at all.

Hishands touching you are the only thing keeping you sane in thismoment. If he wasn't an illusion, that is, because maybe you alreadyhad. Maybe this was all fake, and the fever had grabbed you and youhad no other way out of it than to-

Yourhand is scrambling for your gun before you know why. It's like aspasm in your arm – your brain is yelling at you to calm down, andyou're telling yourself outwardly to calm down, but your fingersgrapple for the weapon beneath the leaves, against everything.

Thepain at the movement kicks in immediately. Your bones feel like glassand every little movement is shattering every shard and letting itpoke through your skin, showing no mercy, but you can't stop moving.There's a panic building up beside the pain that is causing you tomove, despite it hurting you in a way you can't describe.

“Hey!Hey!” Carl exclaims, reaching for your hand as he knows full wellwhat you're planning on doing. “Stop it, Y/N! Y/N! Stop!”

“Oh God, it hurts!” you scream, throwing your head back. Sweatdrips off of your neck, coating the collar of your shirt along withthe blood which had been dotting your clothes since the moment thisvirus took off. “Carl, it hurts! Please, let me finish it!Please!”

Carl chokes back a sob, looking down at you as heshakes his head. “It's on your arm. We – We can fix it if youjust let me be quick.”

“It's too late for a quick fix,”you say. Carl pulls the gun out from beneath the leaves and stuffs itinto his own holster, out of your reach. “The fevers hit, Carl. I'mnot gonna last much longer.”

“Stopsaying that,” Carl hisses, cupping your face again. You close youreyes and let out a final sob, your hands pressing into your side asyou try so hard to ease the pain which is eating away at your body inthis moment. “Let me try. Please, let me try.”

“I'm notletting you cut my arm off for some kind of experiment.”

“Itcould save your life. Please-”

Youlet out a belch, cutting his sentence off. Every nerve in your bodyseems to snap, sending you spiralling faster and faster towards whatyou know is your death – your first death.

�� Carlflinches at the sound, but takes matters into his own hands without asecond thought. He grabs your arm and stretches it out across hislap, taking the pickaxe he had stolen off of his father out of hisholster. His eyes click onto yours for one final moment, asking –begging – forpermission to do it, and whenever you nod your head weakly, he takesthe final action.

Heswings the pickaxe and slams it down on your arm, just above thebite. A sob escapes him as your scream fills the forest, shakes thetrees, makes everything around him feel that little bit duller. Yourentire lower arm comes off in his hand and he yells at the sight ofit, throwing it to the side so he no longer has to look at it.

Thenhe has to deal with the aftermath. The blood which is currentlyspurting out of your arm – what's left of your arm – and thescreams you had just let out, how they will attract walkers formiles.

Butyou can't stay awake long enough to see how he deals with it. Youreyes are closing, your vision going blurry as you silently pray toGod that this doesn't work, that you won't have to wake up without anarm, that the fever was really the last straw and this is it for you.

“-beprepared if you got there too late.”

“I wasn't too late. Icouldn't have been. She wasn't even gone for that long before I foundher.”

“Carl-”

“Dad,she's going to be okay. I'll help her through it all when she wakesup.”

“Please-”

“When she wakesup. Because she will.”

Andyou do, and it's painful, but relaxing and blissful all at the sametime.

Youreyes peel themselves open, letting the sunlight shred your pupils topieces as you get used to the sudden lighting adjustment. There's adull pain in the back of your head, and an aching one on your leftside, but overall you feel a lot healthier than what you did before.

Before. Youhad been bitten. Carl had taken your arm off. You should be deadright now.

Youlook down at the space beside you – your left side. The arm isgone, a stump being left behind that is covered in blood-soakedbandages. The sheets you lay on are also covered in blood, thoughthat is the least of your worries right now.

Thedoor to your cell is open a little bit, Hershel and Maggie standingoutside of it. Neither of them have noticed you're awoken state, andyou overhear their conversation as you force yourself into an uprightposition, ignoring the pain in your side.

“She'sa fighter,” Maggie says. “We got the blood under control after afew minutes.”

“Onlybecause Carl gave her some of his,” Hershel replies, and your heartstops. You bite down on your lip harshly, already planning out thescolding you were going to have to give him – risking his life foryou, again. Just like you always told him not to.

“Theyreally care for each other,” Maggie continues. “Remember whenCarl was shot and she was ready for us to drain her blood of body forhim?”

Hershelchuckles, the memory of the farm still fresh in his head. “Yep. I'mproud to say she's my amputee buddy.”

Youcrinkle your nose up. “I don't know if I like that nickname.”

Hersheland Maggie start at the sound of your voice, as croaked and untamedas it was. As soon as they turn around and see your upright state,they rush towards you and begin to fuss over the bandages on yourstump, Maggie running her hands through your hair to calm you down,as if you needed calmed.

“Howare you feeling?” Hershel asks you as Maggie holds back tears atthe side of you. You shoot the Greene girl a sideways glance,slightly confused at her reaction though you squeeze her handreassuringly nonetheless.

“Good,”you reply. “Better. My arm – my stump –aches a little bit, and I'm ninety percent sure I shouldn't be aliveright now, but that's about it.”

Hershelnods, pinching the skin on your stump. It hurts a little bit, but youdon't pull away.

“Whencan I see Carl?”

Hershellooks up. “He's a bit dazed right now. He gave a lot of blood.”

“That'swhy I wanna see him. So I can kick his ass for giving me blood.”

Maggiescoffs. “I don't care how tough you are, missy, you aren't leavingthis bed for at least another day or so. You'll be light headed ashell.”

“Ican hardly be very tough if I got myself bit.”

Maggiefrowns. “Still got the same old attitude.”

Yousigh and slump back against the headboard. “Can you tell him tocome in here when he's okay? I really - I wanna talk to him.”

Youknow you sound desperate. After so many years of denying being in arelationship with Carl Grimes, this was not the image you were meantto be putting up. And yet you can't help it. You need to see him. Youneed to thank him for what he was doing for you, thank him for savingyour life.

Youneed to tell him how you feel. Being so close to death really opensyour eyes to the fact that life is too short for secrets.

Maggieand Hershel leave the room to allow you to get some rest. You get agood hours of sleep in before somebody else is knocking on the doorframe of your cell, wanting to enter.

Youopen your eyes and roll over to see who it is. As soon as you see hisface, you shoot upright and smile at him brightly, though you'repositive it looks more forced than you'd like.

“Carl,”you say. He doesn't look too bad – a little paler, but nothingmuch. There's a plaster over his arm, his sleeves rolled up to revealit as if he was proud of himself for giving blood. “How are youfeeling?” Carl raises a brow as he sits himself down besideyour bed. “I don't think you should be the one asking that. What'sthe stump like?”

Youlook down at it. So weird. It makes our body seem disproportionated,a fact which you know you're gonna have to get used to eventually.

“Itmakes me feel lop sided,” you tell him. Life's too shortfor secrets. You're not okay, and you can tell him that.

Youbite your lip and look up. “It makes me feel like a bit of anidiot, to be honest.”

Carlfrowns. “How?”

“Remindsme that I nearly got you killed just because I wanted to prove myselfto the group.” You scoff, using your one hand to mess with thematerial of your jeans. “Nearly got myself killed, too, but thatwouldn't be that big of a deal, I guess. You're Rick's son. Judith'sbrother. I'm just – I'm just me. Still,it's pretty shit that all I had to do was sit still and I couldn'teven do that right. End up getting bit and amputeed in the process.”

Carlwinces at the words you speak. “Your death would rip this damngroup apart, Y/N. You know that. If it wouldn't, I would have leftyou to die.” “You should have,” you scoff. “Riskingyour life for me is stupid, Carl Grimes. I've got nobody left –nobody but you.”

“You'llalways have me.”

“But if you die, I have nobody. If I die,you still have Rick, and Judith.”

“But I won't have you.”You look towards him, a frown on your pale face. His eyes meet yoursand for a moment, you don't look away. You're usual lack of eyecontact seems to completely disappear, and you get trapped in hisdark gaze for a moment longer than planned.

“Youwon't have me,” you mutter, looking back down whenever you're surethe blush on your cheeks is getting too obvious. “Right. Sorry. I'mtalking nonsense. It's the lack of my left arm, I think.”

Carlsmiles gently, before he places his hand on top of yours and gentlyrubs your knuckles with his thumb. The action is soothing –soothing enough that you let your head fall back against theheadboard, enjoying the moment whilst it lasted.

“Thankyou, though,” you say, finally.

“Forwhat?”

“Saving my life and everything.”

Carlsmiles softly. “I could thank you for the same thing.”

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sweetlifetownsville · 6 years

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When the deployments stop, sport helps veterans on their 'darkest days'

Updated October 14, 2018 15:21:53 Davin Bretherton remembers the moment he knew things had to change. He was overweight, he felt lost and that his life was a mess. Key points: Basketball gives Davin Bretherton "a reason to get out of bed"He and fellow veteran Jeff Wright will play at this month's Invictus Games They say sport is a crucial part of life after the military About 10 years ago, the military veteran went out to his shed where he housed several of his prosthetic legs and decided he was done. "I was about 180 to 184 kilograms and the beam broke. [It] left me on the floor crying," he said from his home in Townsville in north Queensland. "I thought something had to change." If you or anyone you know needs help: Bretherton, 47, went from wanting to take his own life to looking for ways to get better and what he found was sport. Townsville is a military town, home of the Army's Lavarack Barracks. It was also home to a national men's basketball team and although the team is gone, the love of the sport lives on. Like many of Australia's regional centres, sport is one thread that binds the community together, but for Townsville's former military population it's also a lifeline. "Sport is definitely my happy drug at the moment," Bretherton said. "I love the competition and love knowing there's so many things out there that you can stick your hand up for and have a go. Bretherton plays wheelchair basketball. On the court he ribs fellow teammates with good-natured banter, makes a shot and celebrates with his team. "It keeps you happy and for someone who was unhappy for such a long time and working on the PTSD, it does wonders," he said. He grew up in Adelaide's tough northern suburbs and from an early age was keen to join the military. Once in the Army, Bretherton joined transport before moving to infantry in Townsville and travelling overseas to Somalia with 1RAR in the early 1990s where he was on the frontline. Nearly a decade later, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. "It was pretty daunting," he said. "There [are] a lot of things there that still play on the mind. You're trying to always process it, but I suppose at the end of the day, our presence there did some good." 'We decided to get rid of the leg' On his return, he was involved in a training accident in Adelaide, falling out of the back of an armoured personnel carrier and severely injuring his ankle. He was 31. "From there it just turned into a little bit of a nightmare," Bretherton said. He endured 26 operations over eight years, suffering multiple infections and taking morphine daily. "I know that eventually in there somewhere the addiction came," Bretherton said. "I was drinking heaps, smoking everything out there that I could and I thought, you know what, bang, something's got to change. "That's when we decided to get rid of the leg." During his 27th operation, doctors amputated his right leg below the knee. Bretherton had hoped removing the injured leg would also remove his pain but the surgery was not the panacea he was hoping for. There were more complications, infections and run-ins with the bureaucracy. "They [the DVA] couldn't do any house modifications because they covered my ankle and now I was an amputee. I didn't have an ankle, so I wasn't covered," he said. "[They were] some of the darkest days that I can remember." The Department of Veteran's Affairs said in a statement it could not comment on individual matters, but it would fund home modifications for Gold and White health card holders depending on their assessed needs. Basketball gives Bretherton 'a reason to get out of bed' Bretherton and his wife Elle married the year before he deployed to Somalia. She raised three children while weathering a storm few could.

Photo: ADF veteran Davin Bretherton and his wife Elle in Townsville, Queensland. (ABC News: Mark O'Leary) "Sometimes I'd go out on a Wednesday and not come home until Sunday," Bretherton said. Ms Bretherton did not know if he was going to come home at all. "We've had several conversations in the past and I think it was probably me saying, 'I can't do this anymore' which instigated the change," she said. "If you knew him 10 years ago you wouldn't recognise him physically and you wouldn't recognise him mentally either I don't think." Ms Bretherton said a specialist recommended Bretherton play basketball and he did not look back. "It just gives him a reason to get out of bed in the morning," she said. "He's got more motivation, he's happier so [he's] just more pleasant to be around in general." All of Bretherton's teammates play in a wheelchair regardless of their ability. The games are run by not-for-profit organisation Mates4Mates as part of their social connection program. The group's local manager said the rehabilitation service was aimed at equipping veterans for life after Defence. "We can't be their new permanent Defence Force family, we're more of a stepping stone as they continue on with transition and moving on with their life," he said. Jeff Wright also plays. He was paralysed in a motorcycle accident well after he left the Army. "It's a competitive thing and the military is competitive by nature anyway," he said.

Photo: Jeff Wright (pictured left) and Davin Bretherton will play wheelchair basketball in October's Invictus Games. (ABC News: Mark O'Leary) Invictus 'gives you hope' Later this month, both Bretherton and Wright will be representing Australia in the Invictus Games in wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby. Bretherton is also competing in sailing. For both of them, it will be the second time they have taken part. Bretherton said Invictus "gives you hope". "It's not always going to be easy but all you want to do I suppose is feel a sense of belonging again and I definitely think that's what Invictus does for me, anyhow," he said. The games will be held in Sydney from October 20 and will bring together the military community to support "our wounded warriors". Michael Handley from Tweed Heads in northern New South Wales will be at the games showcasing an app he has developed to provide immediate help to users. The app is called RedSix red is the colour for danger and six is a Defence term meaning "I've got your back". Handley also served in Somalia and said the growing suicide rate in the Defence community prompted him to develop the app.

Photo: Davin Bretherton and Jeff Wright play wheelchair basketball in Townsville and will compete at the Invictus Games. (ABC News: Mark O'Leary) 'Talking with someone who has worn the uniform is easier' The app is restricted to serving and ex-Defence members and uses GPS technology to link users with others within a 200 kilometre radius. The app allows users to check in to indicate how they are feeling: green, amber or red. "Green means you're good, amber means you're okay and red [means] you're in a bad headspace [and] could use someone to reach out," Handley said. That could mean contacting them via the app and asking them for coffee or if they just needed to talk. He said in its first weeks, two people checked in with the red symbol for help and their call was answered immediately by other members. "I just wanted to save one life and I think we're way above that," Handley said. "Talking with someone who has worn the uniform is a lot easier than talking with someone who hasn't." He said RedSix allowed an intervention to happen immediately, instead of veterans waiting several weeks to see a psychologist. Handley was diagnosed with PTSD in 2005 and knows what others are going through. "I rarely slept. I was extremely aggressive. I lost my temper at the drop of a hat," he said. But he said that instead of focusing on the long road ahead, he concentrated on taking little steps and, like Bretherton, fitness became key. Handley found the gym, started bodybuilding and reconnected with other veterans in the area. "We have this little thing at home, that when I come home from work every day that my daughters greet me at the door, no matter what they're doing," he said. "So no matter how bad my day is, I've got these two little humans who just want to be around dad. It turns my bad day into a bright day."

Photo: Davin Bretherton and Jeff Wright play basketball at a Townsville stadium. (ABC News: Mark O'Leary) Topics:veterans,defence-forces,sport,people,human-interest,disabilities,health,mental-health,stress,sydney-2000,townsville-4810,australia First posted October 14, 2018 06:13:25 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-14/invictus-games-military-towns-use-sport-to-support-veterans/10338120

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megadoctornews · 7 years

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“I grew up seeing my dad on and off crutches due to multiple knee surgeries. I always knew the old civil war era design needed to change, and I’ve been dreaming up ways to make it better for years. After he became an AK amputee (above the knee) he became a permanent user, and I knew I had to do it, it became my mission to create something better for him, something that would truly improve his everyday life.”

Together, Max and Liliana Younger, founded Mobility Designed to redefine mobility. At Mobility Designed they believe the status quo is not good enough. “We believe you can have a better quality of life through improved mobility, and our mission is to create mobility devices that provide a painless experience and are made to fit you.”

The inspiration was his father

Mega Doctor News

Max Younger, Co-Founder of Mobility Designed. Mobility Designed has been featured in Tech Insider and numerous media outlets. Max is an Industrial and Interaction Designer that holds multiple patents for his designs.

He has experience working for Hallmark Cards and Dimensional Innovations. Max believes that mobility should be as pain free as possible and is redefining mobility with his invention, the M+D Crutch which supports the user’s weight with their elbows instead of their armpits.

Mobility Designed (www.mobilitydesigned.com) is a company focused on creating and delivering Personal Assistive Devices that redefine mobility. Max said that they combine design and function to address the pain in the armpits, hands, wrists and shoulders that can be caused by traditional crutches.

“The inspiration came from watching my dad, on and off crutches most of my childhood. He used them for various knee injuries/surgeries, and 6 knee replacements. In 2008, he became an above the knee amputee. This solidified my need to really solve this crutch problem.” He continued, “My dad is not one to complain about things but I knew it was a problem and he had damaged the nerves in his hands and his wrists. My wife, Liliana, and I knew the armpit was off limits as it is not meant to support weight. We started working on it and came up with hundreds and hundreds of ideas…most of which didn’t work for various reasons. We built many prototypes, and came up with a better solution, the M+D Crutch.”

He continued to say that anyone who has used traditional crutches knows how painful they are. They cause pain in the armpits and forearm crutches can cause pain in the wrists, hands and shoulders with extended use. The M+D Crutch evenly distributes the user’s weight from the elbow through the forearm, eliminating pressure on those pain points.

Short-term users have a more comfortable experience during their time on crutches.

The M+D Crutch offers an alternative for long-term crutch users. People that haven’t been able to use alternatives because of pain or damage to their hands or wrists and have been relegated to using a wheelchair as their only solution have been able to use the M+D Crutch. “While each person’s situation is unique, we have heard many amazing stories from our users,” he stated.

After 150 Years Designer Reinvents the Crutch The inspiration was his father Mega Doctor News Max Younger, Co-Founder of Mobility Designed. Mobility Designed has been featured in Tech Insider and numerous media outlets.

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