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Lacking a Limb, Not a Life by Lauren Bishop(Excerpted from a full article. Reprinted with permission from the Cincinnati Enquirer)April 23, 2007  When Heather Mills stepped onto the "Dancing With the Stars" floor in March, TV viewers watched to see how she could dance with a prosthetic leg. Would Paul McCartney's soon-to-be-ex-wife, who lost her leg below the knee after she was hit by a motorcycle in 1993, be competitive? Today, five weeks into the ABC series, Mills and professional partner Jonathan Roberts have waltzed past Shandi Finnessey (Miss USA 2004), Paulina Porizkova (supermodel), Leeza Gibbons (talk show host) and Clyde Drexler (NBA Hall of Famer) and are now among the seven remaining couples. "(She) brings the whole idea to the general public that just because you lose a leg doesn't mean your life is over," says Richard Friend of Symmes Township, founder of the Tri-State Amputee Group. "If you work hard at it, you can thrive." Here, four amputees from Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky share how they've done just that. ROB LYKINS, 38, FELICITY Drummer for local progressive rock band Crooked Rook and floor supervisor at Ford "I was in a car accident 14 years ago that severed my right foot. They tried to rebuild it, but there was too much muscle and bones and nerves gone, so the best thing to do was amputate. "When they first told me that, I couldn't believe it. My family asked, 'Isn't there an alternative or something else we can do?' But the doctor said the rehab would have taken a long time and I probably would have walked with a cane the rest of my life. "I broke down like any normal person would do. I was working for a lumber company in Batavia and playing music. The doctors knew I played drums and they said, 'You're going to have to find another instrument to play.' "I told them: 'Well, you told that to the wrong person. Don't tell me I can't do something, especially something I've been doing since I was six.' I proved them wrong. You cannot limit yourself at first. "Your life is altered, yes, but you can't let somebody say you can't do it. You have to try it for your own benefit. "I went back to work first, and I went back a little too soon, six months after the accident, but I was excited to get back to do what I wanted to do. My co-workers helped me out big time until I got adjusted and got into the hang of doing things I used to do. "I started playing drums again about 10 months after my accident. I had to relearn how to play. It took a while and it hurt, but no pain, no gain, that's what it was. There are some drum techniques I still can't do, but I don't care. I've got my own style now because I've developed it. If it were not for the other three members of the band, I would not be here. "If God didn't think that you could get through it, he wouldn't have put you through it, and that's always been my belief." On Heather Mills: "From what I saw, she's awesome. You go for it if you can do it." |
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