Yup, while the technology is improving all the time it's going to be many years yet before it gets there IMO, and even then the price for parts that are genuinely better will mean only the crazy rich can afford them.
Yes obviously I meant "better than a quite functioning human body" because sure mobility aids and medical devices helps when something dysfunctions. It's like people saying "you use a wheelchair because you're lazy" how would moving around with your arms (weaker than your legs) somethings heavier than you body (your body + the wheelchair) be easier than walking ??? It's just not. Unless you're legs are bad or some other issues. There's no advantage of having a wheelchair if you're not disabled. It is efficient for us, but not more efficient than abled legs like what the hell are you thinking ??
Please Anne, reply to me. Please see my other comments. If you had cancer, and amputation would save your life, would you consent? I know that I would NOT!!!
@@gordanazakula4927 if it would save my life 100% I would. I have 2 young kids I couldn't leave behind... but then I'm also the person who has taken the BRCA test and would have had a mastectomy and hysterectomy as preventative if it came back positive....
I have a disability and I honestly don’t know what people think they’ll get out of it? The inability to form relationships because you always feel like you’re being a pain or limiting what your friends/partner can do? The ridiculous expenses that come with being chronically ill? Or just the generally feeling terrible a large percentage of the time? All sounds super fun to me.
If you think it through you don't want it. People tend to only dream of the bright side and not even acknowledge the dark parts, because they just don't want to think about it. And for you- These thoughts are totally understandable, I don't know how you deal with them. I just hope you have a good outlet. There are enough people who don't think you are a pain and not feel limeted by your disability. If they are not willing to put up with you, they don't have to stay, and for your sake they shouldn't (not just for disabled people). It is definitely ok for you to feel unwell, even for days or weeks. It comes with horrible thoughts, but they don't stay if you don't drown yourself in them. It won't be easy.
I used to want a disability when I was younger. I don’t have depth perception, but my eyes work fine so that’s not considered a disability. I can’t do lots of the things required for sports because of it, like catching flying objects and not falling over kerbs and jumping off/onto objects. I wanted something to make people understand I was trying, that I wasn’t being lazy, I just knew I wouldn’t be able to do it without hurting myself. I have done so on occasion, when I push myself too hard, or if I’m careless. People understand “disability” and I didn’t have the words to express what was going on for a long time. I didn’t know why I couldn’t do things, let alone explain to other people. It’s not a recognised thing, and doesn’t matter except in specific circumstances. But those circumstances pop up more often than you’d expect. Funnily enough, I do actually have a recognised disability: I’m dyslexic. That also went undetected for a really long time, until I was 17. I’m just good at adapting, but I wanted some kind of explanation for the amount of effort I was putting in to get the same results others could get without trying. Being able to say with two words that things are harder for me in specific areas of my life is really useful. Then I don’t get accused of being lazy when I’m trying my hardest. It feels wrong, being able to call my dyslexia a disability when it went undetected for so long but not being able to say the same for my other struggle, which has arguably had much more of an impact on my life. It feels wrong to be able to get help, because I’ve never been severe enough to be recognised. I’m so used to struggling, and finding my own ways around a problem. I can understand wanting a disability for the acknowledgment that things are harder for you than the average human, and your best effort may look different. But then that’s just my life experience, and obviously it’s nowhere near the scale of chronic pain or amputation on the way it puts limitations on my life. I’m sorry if this came off as rude or entitled.
@@truebrew2004 Having no depth perception can be classed as a disabilty. You don't need to be registered blind or visually impaired for vision issues to be classed as a disability. To me if it was something you wanted I would class you as disabled from it due the issues you have with kerbs, falling objects etc. Especially if your issues have caused you to knock things over, trip over things, fall over, struggle to access pavements/sidewalks or stairs. Under UK law for example: "You’re disabled if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities."
Being happy while having a disability gets you automatically categorised as a “brave and positive inspiration!” If everyone with a disability was sad and told everyone how horrible it is when people ask any questions, no one would “want” to be disabled. But because we act and talk normal when we’re different we are “amazing”. No we are just people who can talk without crying just like everyone else 😂
I'm a Right Above Knee Amputee and considered a "shorty" by my PT because my limb was cut off 8" above the knee and don't have much left on the right leg. I lost it because of a lack of circulation because of arteriosclerosis and plaque build up in the arteries below the knee. Artificial arteries were rejected by my body. I'd give anything to have it back.
Hi sorry you have disability but when you say you you would give anything to have your leg back make sure it's not your life because you matter and without you the would wouldn't be as good
I do notice that the "inspirational" view of disability is applied much less to people with invisible disabilities. I personally have never felt that pressure. I largely run into skepticism about my need and the narrative that I'm probably playing things up to get special treatment.
GalacticGuava If my invisible disabilities are acknowledged, I’m denied accommodations/empathy as I’m supposed to “overcome” them, so why bother inconveniencing ableds?
@Angelica Cline the grass is always greener I guess. Personally I'd rather my disability be visible so I wouldn't be denied accommodations or be called lazy for needing them. When you can't live up to the same expectations as everyone else people just assume it's a character failure and blame you for it.
I'm not sure if I have biid or if I just am romanticicing amputation. Would it be OK for you to tell me about the symptoms of Biid? Maybe then I can figure it out...
@@rosegranger2872 it is different for each person. In my case, I have had obsessive thoughts about amputating my legs below the knee for as long as I can remember (since at least around 5 years old). I've always felt like my feet don't belong there. My sense of touch on my feet feels different than the rest of my body, hyper sensitive to some types of stimuli, nearly dead to others. When I remember my dreams, I am usually an amputee in them. Probably a few more things that I'm not thinking of, but those are the highlights.
@@rosegranger2872 I don't have personal experience with it, but from what I've learned it seems like there's a disconnect between how your body is in real life and how it is in your mind. Like if you've ever worn clothes or makeup that were really not your style at all and when you looked in the mirror you were surprised by what you saw and thought, "I'm clearly wearing this but I don't look like me." But more intense and persistent because it's a part of your body that you can't take off at will
It could be mentioned that BIID isn't a mental illness, and the only known successful treatment is to provide the desired amputation. Current research shows possible (intractable) neurological causes.
I used to think I had BIID when I was a kid because I wished I could be in a power wheelchair. Now in retrospect I am realizing that it was because I have several chronic illnesses now, that I might have had these illnesses as a kid too and I just really wanted to be able to go places without so much pain... but i was told it was normal to want to die all the time because of my constant agony, so I just pushed myself beyond the point of what would be considered reasonable.
Very well put. I'm sorry you're getting comments like this directed toward you. I imagine that it's really uncomfortable to hear those things. I'm not an amputee; my disability is severe PTSD. I have a service dog to help me live life more like a normal person. It's always SO uncomfortable to hear things like "Wow, I wish I had PTSD/was disabled! Then I could take MY dog everywhere! You're so lucky!" Like. Whoa. Full stop. No. It's my life and I've gotta make the most of it, but if I could choose to not be disabled (and not take a dog everywhere), I would in a second.
Like i have ptsd and my dog (gotten as an emotional support dog) developed severe anxiety so i cant take him out and the only way he helps my anxiety is by making me seem less anxious
Having a service dog is lovely, but at the same time its SUCH a pain in the butt. It's like having a toddler strapped to you hip 24/7. They have issues just like any dog. Sometimes they get sick, and have diarrhea, or have a rough day. You can't go ANYWHERE if they're out of commission, and sometimes you just want to do things and not have to worry about you dog, like going to a tjeme park. Who's gonna hold him while I ride the roller coaster? It's HARD, and people just don't get it. That being said, my dog is my life and I couldn't live without him
I’m a left below knee amputation from a work accident caused by a wreck less equipment operator who pretty much crushed my body from my left eye socket down to my lost leg, the accident was in 2013 and I’m still having surgeries to put me back together...nine surgeries so far 2 years in a nursing home, 1.5 years in a assisted care independent apartment add the post surgery infections and the physical therapy of learning to walk again after 4 years of not walking it took 3 months to be independent of a walker!! and yes you are out of your mind or have a mental condition that you need help for There’s nothing fun about wearing a prosthetic, you can’t walk on uneven ground without a cane or walking poles, you can’t go down any steep terrain such as a river bank, etc...the people you see running marathons or climbing mt Everest have either won a huge lawsuit or have rich families or sponsors. Insurance, worker’s compensation and Medicare only cover the basic walking leg. Mine cost 25,000 that’s including 2 2,000 liners and shim sock set. Every year as your liners wear out and your stump shrinks you must get refitted to a new socket at a cost of 10,000 and the approval process can take months mean while you are getting sores and infections from the poor fit..I’ve been up to 18 plys waiting on approval. Yes I’m grateful to be alive and able to walk, sorry about the rant I just couldn’t believe someone would want this electively
To those who want to have a carbon fiber rocket foot just because it looks cool, and you don't need to lose a limb because your situation doesn't call for it, (Jo hit the nail on the head!) There are amazing tattoo artists that specialize in biomechanical art styles. If you want the look, but you don't require amputation to live a better life, and are ok with tattoos, go that route instead! Also, actual carbon fiber rocket feet can cost as much as some cars (based on a $ figure from a previous video). Tattoos, depending on how far you go with the piece, usually do not.
Jo: “you could be literally anywhere in the world doing literally anything right now” Me: “global pandemic, not allowed to leave my house.. nope. Nothing else to do” 🤣
Well there are what, 7 billion of us out there? So yeah, probability is that any conceivable fetishes there's someone with it. I'm already left scratching my head in confusion at some of the less extreme stuff I've heard of. 🤨🤷♂️
@@ncrtrooper8786 there are those that do nasty things with maggots. 🤮 Then there's the whole 2 girls and a cup type stuff where it seems they are just begging to catch a disease.
Hi Jo! The only reason for people to want to become an amputee I can think of is the need of attention. People want to feel special, and be noticed by others. I myself am an disabled person with a normally-looking body (MS) Because my disability is not visible from the first sight, I feel that people don't notice it and don't know how difficult it really is (not being able to use your body even though it looks perfectly ok)
Hi Jo. Good point made. Seven surgeries in 13 months starting with toes 9/19, and my BKA 9/21/20. Yay, start of fall. It's been a slow realization that I now can't just hop up to let the dogs in. I process and pattern everything. When I lost my toes, in the back of my mind I was thinking "oh god, what if it keeps going?" But once it was done I decided "Hey, it's part of my life now." I'm waiting for my first appointment to get going on a leg. I had the nurses laughing telling them I want the one The Rock had in Skyscraper. He hung upside down from that puppy. Lol. I would love to have two meat feet back, but diabetes said no. So now I'm embracing the change but will also shout from the mountain top KEEP YOUR LEG to anyone who might have those misguided thoughts.
I walked around with a nerve damaged limb that was slowly dying for 29 years, I never would wish for that. Being an amputee is now even more difficult; at least until I get a prosthetic, I can’t imagine wanting this. How ever since I constantly make jokes people think it’s really not all that bad. I deal with stress by using self deprecating humour wish people would realise that being an amputee is actually serious and while its circumstances it puts me in are funny it’s not fun for one moment.
I never realized that people feel that way. Your videos have actually kind of scared me about losing my leg. I see things that you do and realize that I couldn't do all that you do because of my weight. I couldn't get off the floor without help now because of my bad leg and I would think it would be a hundred times worse without my leg. I wouldn't wish my pain upon anyone though.
Thank you so much for broaching this topic because taking on personal identities for the aesthetic underscores the the limits of our empathy. This notion that struggle and pain is something cool or fashionable to constantly live suggests that the experience of those who might be marginalized is reducible to a single aspect of their life, when it’s not that simple. Know that asking for an identity you don’t have comes with struggles you will never know that are not as glamorous.
I have hidden chronic ilnesses and sometimes I wish that I had a "visible" means of showing that something was wrong with me. Too many times people and doctors don't believe me because they can not see what is wrong with me. I understand that there are many other struggles when you can visually see that something is wrong with someone but sometimes I find it hard because I look "great". Several years ago when my ankle injury wouldn't heal I had a doctor joke that we would need to amputate but I also felt like it was only a half joke as nothing was working. Thankfully after 5 years it got better but there was a time when I seriously wondered if I would one day need amputation and I am thankful it didn't come to that. Now my pain doc jokes about amputation for my headaches.... (I am serious)
Yes i relate to this so much! I have been dealing w constant pain in both ankles for over 3 years now, and the number of people who get confused when I turn down an invitation to go somewhere even though I look fine, when really I have just perfected the art of acting like I'm not in pain all the time. I still don't have a diagnosis, but am working w specialists so will hopefully get there soon, but yeah I sometimes wish I just had something visible, or at least something predictable, as even if I am just sitting the pain often flairs up.
When I was 14 years old my knee dislocated. When I got older I had to have the knee replaced. That discussion to have a replace my knee took me over three years and a lot of pain. I did it but I am not thrilled with the way it is today. They cut my bones in my leg to put medal there. Can no longer use my knee to get up if I fall. It works ok for getting around. Not like my knee when I was younger. The other knee needs surgery now. Going to take longer this time. This was my good knee while the other was always a problem. Love your vlog. Look for it every day. PORT PERRY ONTARIO CANADA
I had a friend a long time ago who had a little boy who really liked me for some reason. He even tore the leg of his Teddy bear. But he was also 3. Cute kid but he was totally obsessed with my "robot leg"
I'm not going to lie, since I started watching your videos a few months ago, I have had the realization that life would be difficult but still very much doable (excuse my phrasing) if something ever happened and I lost a foot. But to watch your videos and think that losing a foot would be "cool" (BIID aside) is something I cannot understand.
As an amputatee, I find those comments insulting. We all wish we have the body parts we lost! You have not romanticized anything. You are just real. BTW I have balance issues and my BK prosthetic leg helps me balance better.
Jo, I have watched several of your videos documenting the struggles you have gone through and how well you have been dealing with the difficulties and pain you have had to endure through a large portion of your life. Perhaps some of your viewers have completely missed (because you always present yourself being so happy) all the discomfort, pain, and difficulties you have talked about in your videos. I personally would really struggle getting through life with the issues that plague people with disabilities. The reason I watch your videos is because I am impressed with how well you deal with your issues and at the same time stay so upbeat most of the time. I can't imagine any sensible human being wanting to voluntarily give up one of their limbs unless, like you had a painful situation and the only relief was through amputation. I hope those people get help before they harm themselves.
Hi Jo I am a new amputee so your videos have been very helpful to me ....this journey is very very difficult and i am just getting my prosthetic on Tuesday but your videos have beena lift and comfort!Thanks !
There is a conditions called BIID/BIDD (forget the correct acronym :| ) but they genuinely believe they should have a limb, should be in a wheelchair despite having 0 real health reasons to use one, etc. So thanks for mentioning that. Its rarely brought up in these types of videos. Otherwise, its purely romanizing it. It also could be the "I want to be saved" so they jump to illness type thing. Which happens with depression SO OFTEN its disheartening. Its frustrating. I'm disabled, can't find a treatment that works, lost all my friends, fight with family to respect my limits, beg doctors to do their job and test me for crap and write down my symptoms, etc etc. I'm my advocate, my support system, my best friend, my worst enemy, my bully, my lover, my world. I am all I got. And I have been for years. The isolation alone is so damn hard. Let alone interpersonal relationships and such. I have been rejected for my health, I have been told I'm giving up when my legs are paralyzed and I can't walk, that I'm lieing when they can see me having a panic attack and clawing open my skin and bleeding, that I'm making it up when I'm vomiting my stomach out and coughing out my lungs. And that's the physical. At least most of that they can see. The mental health that they can't see? Its never, ever taken seriously. Even what little is diagnosed. Its often shrugged off. "Every teen is depressed" "just stop being anxious" "just get out of bed and go outside more" etc. And fail to realize the physical part greatly impacts the mental, and both make each other worse. So tell me, What is so cool about others debating you health? Having it be the controversial topic in the house? Having doctors tell you you painted your leg when its purple, or that for 6+ years you've had growing pains when you've stayed 5'8. How is never being able to talk about your health in fear it will be to much, how your body working against you, how the world never understanding cool? Tell me that. I have multiple undiagnosed health conditions. Because I'm not paralyzed 24/7, and it happens randomly, I'm lieing to everyone When I'm stuck in bed, all I can do is say I'm lieing and need to get up. I'm never believed. And for so many, it gets to the point they've been told they aren't sick for so long they are getting worse and worse and break. It takes a breaking point to get help. When the red flags had been up and there for years. The 4+ years diagnosis time is sad. The marginalized communities not being believed is sad. The fact you have doctors Calling you a lier is sad. Im mentally ill, I'm physically ill. And the diagnosis process for me will be years upon years and very, very pricy. Don't ever say you want to be disabled. But don't say you'd want to die if you were disabled. Just validate the ones with disabilities and say if it were to happen to you you would make the most of life. Sorry to go off. But the amount of times I've heard shit that romanized my life that is constantly being worsened by others opinions, to be told my suffering is a cute aesthetic. Your the reason doctors don't believe me. If you think you truly, and I mean truly, have a problem like your passing out or been really down and lost interest in things for a while, go see a doctor. But don't go "I've been sad for a hour guess I'm depressed". Illnesses are not adjectives. And I'll end this here. Running out of energy and my hot water bottle is getting cold lol.
I can relate heavily to this in kind of a different way though. My disability, though I'm not missing limbs, they do give me a hard time, I'm not able to be very mobile for long stretches at a time... And I've heard many times over the years how nice it must be to "not have to work that much" or "be exempt from (blank) in school" among many others. But I'm just like no, you're not jealous of me at all. Yes you have to work but you also have all of your mobility and can do so many things without even thinking about them. I have to think about everything in terms of "if I do thing A today I won't be able to do thing B tomorrow, which is more important" no one wants that. Some envy my disability support, but I'd so much rather be able to fully support myself like a normal person... The grass always looks greener I guess?
@@darkiee69 I guess it's better than when all we ever saw was people who were very miserable and needed help with everything they did? I really hope someday we learn to tell a variety of stories though and not just one. Then maybe it would be easier for kids (and adults) to learn that people with disabilities are just normal people but with a disability, and that they're all different from each other just like everyone else is.
I never got that message from your channel. I'm a newer viewer (found you this summer) While I don't have a prosthetic limb, I do deal with chronic illnesses. And I would never ever wish them on anyone. I too could make a 10 minute edited video of my day and make it look fun, interesting and inspiring but the reality is that many days are filled with exhaustion, tears, pain, people judging me, limitations from my own body ... so anyone who wishes this on themselves ... i don't know what to say.
When I was 1/2 way through rehab, the therapist said to me, “We SHOULD be able to have you running marathons again!” I looked at her dumbfounded for a moment. “Ok...? I never ran anything or anywhere before...” pointing to my newly prosthetized leg. “Oh...weren’t you the marathon runner?” I burst out laughing. Athlete I have NEVER been. Between my left BKA and an AFO brace on my right for drop foot...some days I still use a wheelchair (4 yrs after amputation) for anything that’s longer than to the car and back kind of distances. I would definitely NEVER have chosen this route in life, though I do, like you said, the best I can with what I have. There’s not a day that goes by that wishes I hadn’t got those 3rd degree burns to the bottoms of my feet...not a day that I don’t wish I had taken a few moments of packing the family stuff for the water park and put my pool shoes in. When little kids talk to me about me “cool robot leg” I tell them enough to let them know, “I’m ok, but it was an accident and a real leg and your own super strong bones are WAY more strong and powerful, and cool! So take care of them and be safe!.” I don’t want to scare them, but also not to promote that a prosthetic/robot leg is something to strive or wish for. Parents always look horrified when kids ask. I don’t mind, they are curious, they think it’s a cool robot leg cause of tv and movies. The odd child understands it’s cause I got hurt. But as you say Jo....NO ONE WANTS THIS!! Thanks for sharing. 😊
WELL SAID JO! Why anybody would want to have a body part amputated boggles me! I've watched Jo's videos and deeply respect her. She has shown that life doesn't stop after an amputation, and that one can still enjoy a fulfilling active life as an amputee. I have no doubt though that she must have agonized over hsving part of her leg amputated. Likely had sleepless nights overly. She no doubt hoped there would be a better option. But ultimately, having the amputation was the best option due to ongoing pain and discomfort from complications relating to an earlier accident. I remember seeing the movie "The Fault in our Stars", a movie about a teenage girl with terminal cancer. My niece said she wishes she had a cancer because she thought some happy romance would come from it. Cancer is NOTHING to feel good about, and romance is virtually out of the question. Having a leg amputated is much preferable to cancer. Buy it is nothing to want or wish for.
I think this is the same type of effect like when you read a YA novel and empathise with the characters so much you do occasionally find yourself thinking "I want to be in a post-apocalyptic dystopia and lose everything I take for granted and fight for my life every day." I think it's a combination of admiration of a specific person/binging their content and being surrounded by them and the fascination of the unknown/fantastical. Most people, however, know not to voice these thoughts out loud because they realise how bad that actually sounds and how disrespectful it is to people actually struggling. In the end, my hope is that these people will get over these fleeting thoughts and, should they ever actually be in a situation where they actually face losing a limb, be a little less scared during this very tough time.
I have a developmental disability (yeah, Autism Spectrum Disorder) and I can relate to this. Because I'm in a "nerdy" field, I've heard people say "Oh, I wish I have ASD so that I can disregard the social rules" and something like that. I was like... ummmm, no, you don't want to deal with the shutdowns, meltdowns, sensory overloads. Being an Aspie is amazing, sure, I loved seeing the world differently, but if I'm not an Aspie... at least I won't have a meltdown just because I went on a road trip, or deal with a sensory overload the night before an exam. In my teen years, I thought that I would be closer to my potential if I don't have ASD. Now I wouldn't give up the way my brain is for anything because if I don't love my brain, who will. However, I also think they shouldn't give up the way their brains are just for the sake of being "unique". Let's just all be who we are, instead of romanticizing who we are not.
Thank you for putting it into words..... Your channel, has given me more insight to that life. Before i got to "know you" i kinda romaticed it aswell, so THNAK YOU, for educating me, and others, on this
This is a little different, but kind of similar: I used to feel really disconnected and uncomfortable with my left arm. I had fantasized about just getting rid of it. Sometimes even joking about having a robot arm. Now that I use a cane, I am so grateful I have two arms. Trying to do anything without my “good” arm is so difficult, and if I only had the one it would be so much worse. I still am not a fan of my left arm. But my god is it a lifesaver at times.
As someone who, while not having this particular thing to this extent, did hope that there was something *wrong* with me or that there would be so at least I'd have an excuse for how much I struggled with so many things...I think a part of it can also be actually having an invisible and undiagnosed disability where everything that's hard for you due to being disabled is put down to personal failure by others and, because you've always been taught that that was the case, yourself so you kind of wish that at least you had some "excuse" for failing again and again at seemingly simple things nobody else struggles with. Not even just in the way of having it as an excuse, but just of not constantly "failing" because "you're not good enough" which can really, really drag your self-esteem down. So, I guess...if anyone out there has those experiences, if you make that kind of experience over and over again, really focus on wheather it's *actually* due to a lack of trying or wheather that's just what the world wants you to believe. If you keep trying and keep failing, wheather you have something that can be diagnosed or wheather you are diagnosed, you shouldn't beat yourself up for things that you really can't do or that you can't do without a huge personal cost.
Not an amputee but have multiple chronic illnesses and chronic ankle pain, and the romanticized idea of disabilities and chronic illnesses can be so frustrating. The amount of times I’ve heard “I wish I had what you do so I could get better parking/get out of gym class” (I have a handicap parking pass), while I’m here begging to not have this life anymore. Wouldn’t wish any of this on my worst enemy.
Mild mild MILD rebuttal to your point at around 8:10 ish - where you said that when you were younger you almost wished that you would have that something difficult to deal with: I was the same; but then i grew up, i found out I have a very painful condition that, in retrospect, i've been dealing with my whole life, but nobody recognized the symptoms of. I wonder if it was less "wishing that I was also in pain" and more "I wish that someone would recognize and acknowledge the pain I'm in and how hard it is for me" with a little bit of "I wish I could have that storybook arc of feeling better about myself". Frankly, I'm pretty sure that's what it was for me. And while I might be projecting here - it's not like I know what's going on in your head (hopefully good things) - I know you dealt with a lot of physical pain growing up, which culminated in where you are today. Maybe we're similar in this? (but, note, i still have all my limbs, i just have a lot of chronic pain and a questionable fibromyalgia diagnosis) Which isn't to say that all of these comments come from this place, but they could explain a handful. ps: I love this video and I think what you said was so important, and I'm so sorry that you even had to handle these comments in the first place - it's a very tricky situation. I hope that the people who do feel that way can recognize why they feel that way and work towards a solution for it, like I did - even if that solution is just acknowledging your own struggles, and allowing yourself to be okay with what your own body feels.
I have an invisible disability and I would not wish it on anyone. It's horrible. I recently switched to working remotely even after lockdown because I got lucky with my workplace, but it's still not fun. The strain on family and friends is real even if they don't cut you off, the way people make me a fetish is bizarre, the extra expenses are so draining. Great video Jo, you put it so well. I always love your videos.
Try to be the person in the commercial doing cool things in general. We all have struggles yours are valid! You can overcome them and feel like a super hero.
I would not suggest getting a limb transplant myself, thinking about limb transplants in a video you did Jo... after loosing my left leg and surviving with organ transplants, as well, for the dangerous side effects of anti-rejection medications. But to each it is their own choice. I have had a lot of skin cancer surgeries due to anti - rejection medication side effects... and more... a prosthetic is better for my life than another transplant... and none of it is simple or easy... and this is not fun at all. Learning whom my donor was in 2014... for me another mental nightmare at times... as well as good... but all of it I would not have done if my body wasn't so fucked up due to catastrophic health issues as my insurance calls it. It isn't damned well romantic at all... living 24/7 fighting to survive with a ton of health issues... beyond normal. My donor whom died was a ballet and jazz dancer and her left kidney survives in my body... and I lost her pancreas in my body in 2018 and it nearly killed me, than three months later due to a vein they removed from my left leg to plug her left kidney in my body to my bladder so I could elimate poisons from my body through her kidney ... my left leg got a bone infection and had to be amputated. Her pancreas survived a year and half longer than statistics in my body, and her left kidney is still alive... but I sure as hell would have never wanted her to die to save my life and she was only 19 and a ballet and jazz dancer so it all is not so damned simple as many assume, and miracles that saved my life came at a tremendous price. In the lady that died... so i' simpt isn't simple... ever... nor something I would have wanted and I expected to die on December 7th, 2011 when my donors organs were sewn into my body so being alive is insane but how things work... through all of the mess. Romantic... many things in life are beyond all of the crap people assume... and humans piss me off assuming things that I can't even beign to explain here... but wish you the best in what you do... and your videos help me out a lot... but thoughts on limb transplants are not so hopeful for what I do survive with organ transplants. My donor's pancreas nearly killed me in 2018 and it was cut out and five and half feet of my small intesrtines, then lost a leg... it isn't something I would wish for any human on this planet to survive, but it worked for what is left of what I am... and I feel like a living tomb for the lady that saved my life... and her epitaph... she was Lady Morgan Leigh Judd and she was a ballet and jazz dancer from age three to age nineteen when she legally died and her body was cut to pieces to save lives... all of it bothers me every damned day I wake up for what it took to be alive with this miracle that came at a tremendous price financially over two million dollars and seventy grand a year in medicine for anti rejection to stay alive and then my donors life and life time she had lost... all of it is not easy... ever... and glad you posted this today. It isn't romantic at all. This is the lady that died and saved my life in this link and the first time I saw this I lost it... for a few days in sorrow for whom she was... in 2014, three years after she had saved my life on an operating table... and I have survived eight and half years thanks to her organ transplants, her left kidney still alive in my body, but having issues with it now... that are not a cure... transplants are miraculous... but not a cure as so many assumed that really piss me off some times that think I was normal again when I was working and functioning well for six and half years befor eher pancreas died in my body and nearly killed me... and that was like a funeral for me and I didn't tell her family... it devastated me mentally... for the price of my life for a while, like a funeral. But this lady is the most amazing human I ever met... Lady Morgan Leigh Judd... this was the first video I ever saw of her not long before she died and I lost it... for a while... sorrow hit me like a tidal wave for her family, she was the only daughter... she had brothers and a twin brother... but her fathers only daughter and he wrote about his last trip with her, he went to New York to watch the Yankees play baseball... but instead took her to Broadway for a show and more and didn't realize it would be the last trip he took with his daughter for life... none of it is ever easy... but glad I signed the legal documents to know her father and really understand what the price of my life surviving is all about.... th-cam.com/video/r6GIOo6gBGM/w-d-xo.html ... wish you a good day and all those that follow you. It isn't romantic surviving this kind of thing, it kills me for the sorrow at times beyond words. Never would I wish this on my worst enemies in life... it isn't merciful at all... but it is a valuable lesson in life for me personally. I use a carbon fiber and titanium leg, and also have a swimming leg... for the loss of my left leg, and it doesn't even compare to what the family of my organ donor lost at all... when I think about it some days.... later... have a good weekend Jo and all your followers... loosing limbs isn't romantic... it is heartbreaking if you loose a limb the way I did through organ transplants and complications... and I do believe I shed more tears for the lady that I never met in person until her organs was sewn into my body on an operating table, and she earned my respect for her action saving lives for the most honorable thing I have ever lived to witness a human do in my life. I should have died, expected to die that day in 2011 and woke up alive. She is the best friend of my life time... keeping my blood clean with her left kidney still... now... and romantic is not a word that matches what she is to me... even though John 15 verse 13 says a lot about how I feel for what she did mentally... John 15 verse 13... King James Version... “13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man (or woman) lay down his life for his friends.” I know what this means... and it isn't easy at all... or romantic...
Hi Jo. Im so glad you made this video. Ppl see me after im all put together and think it's not that difficult(I guess I make it look super easy)😔 Anyway, a problem I have with most amp support sites is that almost always someone comes on asking for advice on deciding whether or not to amputate. A good question. But, I've been shocked to hear so many say "go for it, it's the best decision I've ever made" It seems I've been the only one playing devils advocate by asking how many medical opinions did they seek out???? Also they talk about hoping to get out of pain. And still most say "oh you'll feel so much better" WTH! How about honesty and telling ppl about phantom sensations, the long wait and process of prosthetic fittings and long wait to walk again, more surgeries, costs and not to mention healing time. You're right that being an amp has turned into a glamorous thing. Maybe the advances in prosthetic look with some badass mobility. But still ppl need to know that it's anything but glamorous. Thanks again😊
You know.. I've been following you from the start. The reason that I keep coming back is not because I want to be like you.. as in lose a limb. But because I admire your drive and your look on life.. That you try to keep the positive in things although sometimes its hard! keep it up Jo!
But I might actually need amputation, Long story short, bad accident, nerve damage , like 2 thirds of my left foot zero feeling and little to no function (lucky to have any ankle function at all)
Hi Benjamin! I'm so sorry that that is something you're facing and that you had to go through that accident! I hope I made it clear, but this video is really just for people who have no medical reason whatsoever to have an amputation but still "want" one. All the best to you friend, I hope that you have a great medical team and support going forward! 💜
Cases are always different still I had a massive reconstruction 20 odd years ago to save my leg after a motorcycle accident my foot is paralysed with little feelings and my ankle is almost blocked and I can tell you i live pretty well with that. Far much better anyway than my passenger who elected to become a BkA and never got over it ! Amputation was not an option for me and i never regretted to take this path! Adapt adapt adapt! Life with a prosthetic is not fun or glamour as some people might think .and in my opinion better a bad foot than a good prosthetic!
Some folks are experts at what they know nothing about. I admire my blind dog watching her keep on in spite of blindness. But I’m sure she wishes she had her eyes. I think the only advantage with an amputation would be a parking permit. But losing a limb wouldn’t be worth it to get that permit. I admire your keeping on attitude.
Thank you so much for this video! I personally think it´s mostly kids writing these comments. I can totally see a kid seeing you on the screen doing amazing things and handling it all so well (at least on camera) and having this cool prosthetic and thinking "omg, this is so cool! I want it too, the cool prosthetic, and all the attention she surely gets!" Like when a kid in their class has a broken arm and has a cast on it and everyone wants to sign it and pities them for it. While I think it´s amazing how you handle it all and how you don´t seem to think any challenge is too big, I in no way envy you and I think more people should realise that.
Hi,Joe I completelly agree with you.I became a bellow knee amputee two months ago due to horrific motorcycle accident.Your videos are helping me to see what I will experience in the future,how my life is going to be from now on,how to be positive and how to struggle with stump pain,depression,bad days,prostetic leg,financial impact,etc. I think such coments are coming from inmature people thinking that having a "terminator" leg is a "cool" thing.I am on the half way getting a prostetic leg and I am already in hell. I did not trully accept that I lost a limb.These comments are very dangerous as you said.Wish you all the best,jo Greetings from Montenegro
While my prosthetic leg may look cool to some as you said, if you do not need it please do not think amputation is cool. Omg there is so much that people do not see or know about, like starting with the cost. And not just for the leg either. I am on SSI and have spent a lot in the last year for cleaning stuff for my leg, new pants/shorts etc...the list goes on. Then you got the healing time, trips to the doctor and prosthetist...its never ending! I am getting cast for my 3rd leg on Tuesday and my 1yr ampuversary is the 6th. Btw.....HAPPY 1 AMPUVERSARY FOR YOUR SECOND CHOP YESTERDAY JO! Sorry...lol. Love ya! 💜💜💜 Say hi to Brian!
I think it is a medical marvel that an artificial limb as such can be developed for those who have either lost a limb or born without one. But for one to wish for an artificial limb would be disillusioned into thinking it is cool to have in place of a real limb. The pain, the adjustments, the being without, the expense, and the life changing that is not what was dreamed of. I nearly lost my right arm in a car accident, but thanks to bone replacement I was able to receive an artificial ball in my upper arm. It will never be the same as a real bone, but thankfully I can keep my right arm and it is working very well!
Yikes, I mean, I just don't get it. I mean, I love your channel Jo, but I draw the line at wanting to lose a limb! Being diabetic, it's one of the things that terrifies me, knowing that I'm at increased risk of having an amputation during my lifetime, but it's something I try not to dwell on and certainly don't aspire to. However, your channel has maybe made me see that it's not the worst thing that could happen, and I hope that's ok too. In the meantime, I'll appreciate and look after my 2 meat legs :)
Sometimes I really have to admire how this world works, so that YOU are the one producing TH-cam- videos and I don’t, because I know I wouldn’t have the calmness of yours. It’s just unimaginable to me how anybody with a normal, healthy and functioning body would want to willingly make life even harder than it already is (people suffering from BIID are excluded from that of course, because that’s something different).
I feel this video so much. I have a disability that can wildly vary in its impact on my mobility. I spent two years on forearm crutches unable to walk on my own. I recently regained independent mobility and no longer use them daily. I still need the crutches past a certain exertion point (so like, I hike with them) there is no guarantee of how long I will keep independent mobility. While I was on the crutches for any and all walking, I had so many people be like "omg those are so cool I wish I needed crutches!" Like, wtf? Sure, after a while I developed a symbiotic relationship with them, and they are pretty neat looking (plug for SideStix) especially to people not used to seeing that style but to WISH for the NEED of their use? *No please stop.* They see the crutches and they imagine them in addition to their perfectly functioning body. Not in addition to the inability to move through the world without them. I am doing literally everything in my power to stay where I am now.
I have for a long time really wanted a lot of different experiences because then I could relate to people and I could help. A specific one is "I wanna try to break a bone one day just for the experience" like obviously I don't wanna go through that kind of pain and stuff but I wanna be able to relate to people when they break something. This is something that I am trying a lot to stop wanting but it is kinda difficult.
Hey Jo I have Cerebral Palsy I have a hip the is hurting I was thinking of doing that same thing but after listening to my parents telling me the exact thing you just said “keep all you limbs” as long as you can. Thank you. I love watching you you are awesome I have family in Colorado.
I tore my ACL and had a leg brace until it got fixed. It was so frustrating to put on. I couldn't sit in it. It moved out of place when I walked. I'm so thankful my surgery was pretty successful. I don't know what I would do if I faced the decision you did but I'm thankful for you and your educational videos.
I have several disabilities that can cause me to have to be sent home on occasion and recently a coworker told me i was too disabled to work and should just quit so our boss can hire someone better. Note that she isnt on the same shift as me and my boss has no complaints about my work nor do any of my coworkers since they know i work my ass off. This was legit 2 days after i literally worked for 4 hours on my day off showing signs of building up to a migrane siezure till i called myself an ambulance
My mother, who was born with arthrogryposis, and a disability rights activist, used to refer to this idolization of people with disabilities as "Supercrip" syndrome (we even drafted a superhero with the moniker) or "incredible crips." So everytime we watched a TV segment featuring someone with a disability as "inspiring," we would both say outloud, "It's Supercrip!" Then we'd laugh. People would walk up to her in crutches and braces in the grocery store with three toddlers in tow and say things like, "Oh, you amazing." She was quick to point out that *any* woman who raises three toddlers as, for all intensive purposes, a single mother, is pretty impressive. But it's a slippery slope when we worship anybody. A pedestal is just a confining place as any jail cell.
I think a lot of us with CRPS wish we could amputate the area in which we suffer most, but it would just spread. Thank you for a reminder that pain is treated many different ways and we're all just people.
Being disabled in general is very difficult. Finding dr's who specialize in the illnesses you have, getting them to believe you... it took 46 years to get my first major diagnosis for conditions that have plagued me since infancy. I don't go to the ER for emergencies because I'm a pain management patient, thus I'm labeled a "drug seeker"... which is idiotic as I have pain meds! If I go to the ER, it's because I have a medical emergency. I've been laughed at, thrown out, misdiagnosed, given a pregnancy test(after giving my med history of a historectomy), and asked "what do you expect ME to do?", by an ER Dr. If I can't get into my primary Dr, I suffer and wait.
~~~ A nice hello my internet friend. It is a JOY to view your videos. You uplift us out here and a wise young lady . I hit your like bell and leave a comment when I am here. You and your husband enjoy everything you can and I care about you...
I relate to this in a weird way! As someone who spend the latter part of my childhood in the care system I’ve had people say to me “wow I wish I was in care, it sounds so fun” because they’ve watched Tracy Beaker or some similar programme. I don’t think it comes from a bad place, I think people just want to experience things they don’t get to. The grass is always greener on the other side I guess.
All I got out of becoming disabled was being unable to work, living in a hotel and losing contact with people i thought were friends. I used to have a good attitude until I found myself all alone. Last night I fell out of a chair while making dinner. After fighting to get back up for 30 minutes I finally had to crawl into another part of my room and call 911. That included crawling into the bathroom to use the support bars to try to pull myself up. What's so glamorous about that?
I have a psychiatric disability. It can be as debilitating as a missing limb or a sense. I won't say I want to lose a limb persay. However I would exchange my invisible disability for a fully able mind. I'm also legally blind in my left eye. I don't think any other disability would mean my challenges would go away. My greatest fear is my disability will be unmanageable before my death. I will be 65 this year. I never thought what you went through learning to adjust was easy.
I can't be 100% but it may also be that these comments come from young people/children who see this 'epic' bit of hardware and how you relearn to do things you did previously on it and because many children haven't necessarily fully developed their ability to think critically they don't fully understand what it means when they type those things. Completely agree with your video, whatever the reason for the comments, it's important that it's explained the reality of the situation so people properly understand. Not an amputee but I've learnt a lot from your channel about various things that come with being an amputee, the most important one being mental health challenges that come along with it (You've obviously discussed more stuff but just keeping to the topic of the video)
I honestly have thought that before but never said it, sometimes it just feels like my own disability would be taken more seriously if it were something that other people could see instead of something that they have to take my word for, but luckily I've grown a lot since I used to think that kind of thing and I think this video is compassionate and informative, 10/10
I just love her content and it is enjoyable to watch. Yes I did at first thank she is very beautiful then I came to the realization that I would never have a chance with her so I just watch her videos 😊
The amount of pain I’m in has made me request that they cut off my lower left arm. That’s what’s finally made my doctors realise how much pain I’m suffering and finally hopefully going to get some surgery to try repair the nerves and make my left hand tolerable again. My hand is essential for my music but after this long of pain I’d rather not play anymore to stop the pain. I can’t bend my elbow, wiggle a finger, and even if I breathe too deeply it feels like lava is pouring down my arm culminating in being stabbed violently and repeatedly in the hand. But because I’m a positive person and always look relatively well put together, doctors just ignored my pleas. Hope this makes sense, I didn’t say it to romaniticise it, I said it to help illustrate how far I’d be willing to go to get some relief.
I'm so sorry you haven't been listened to and believed about your pain. It's disappointing how common that is, especially for women. I hope you can finally get some relief soon!
You are a great video creator, and I love how you’ve documented what you’re going through and how you’re living this new way of life. I don’t get how people wouldn’t look up to you dealing with change and instead of thinking maybe I shouldn’t have a leg, why not reflect your resilience or mindset into your own life with whatever you’re dealing with? Like that would make sense 😂
Now I feel a bit guilty. I think I have commented that you make having an artificial leg look cool. I understand completely that it entails all sorts of hardships that I cannot understand and hopefully never will have to. My comment was intended as a compliment to underline that you make it seem more effortless that I'm sure it actually is. Life is complicated enough as is. Unnecessary amputation is absolutely not something to add to the pile
Oh please don't feel guilty or anything, Jógvan! I meant this video specifically for people who are actually hoping/wanting to have a disability or amputation for no real reason. I wanted to encourage people to think a little bit deeper about it - I really appreciate your encouragement towards me that you think I make it look cool! 😊
Lol, I've went the polar opposite. After the second time I broke my right leg, thanks to a very good surgeon, I managed to keep it. Been 4 years now and it can hurt quite a bit sometimes, but I'm glad it's there and I have no desire for it to be gone..
I have a relitively severe case of chronic fatigue syndrome and so many people used to scoff and say "wow i wish i could stay in bed all day" Well now we are all in quarantine and all they do is whinge about not being able to go out so I'm definitely not going to be as kind about calling out those comments in the future.
man. cant wait for people to romanticize ME/CFS because they think we just get to lay around and its great. (the idea of being lazy is fun. actually being like "i wanna do this. ....i cant move." or "hhhu im too tired. to sit up and draw." (or sometimes even anything but dissociate and watch videos sometimes even thats too much.) ) i dont think ableds get people can be proud and connected to their disability and what they live like because of it but that doesnt mean its great (though if i could at least get rid of the ME/CFS id love that. my other ones are enough.)
I have wanted to get a double above the knee amputation because I have chronic knee pain for over 7 years. I know that having an amputation is hard but since I already struggle to get up and do normal activities like walking, sitting, or literally anything I do dream of them just going away. I don’t want to be an amputee because I want a disability, I already have that, I just want to be free from the pain.
Living life with a disease that you can't get rid of because of your own mental limitations or the limitations of medical science is NOT fun in any way. It depresses me to see people saying that they want to be disabled because they just do not understand how debilitating it can be to have limitations that could be so easily surpassed if that disability did not exist.
i wish i had a wheelchair. because i need a wheelchair. i have EDS and chronic pain. while it affects my arms, it takes great joy in going after my legs. having a wheelchair would be so beneficial to my life. can i stand? yes. can i walk? yes. do both of those things often times cause me moderate to severe pain? yes. hell, sometimes even laying down in bed causes my legs to ache. the only mobility aid i have is a pair of crutches. i didnt even get them because of my EDS. i had a surgery to remove glass from my foot about a year ago, so i had to use crutches for a few months. i use them sometimes when one of my legs is in extreme pain, but i hate having to use them. i wish i had a wheelchair.
I’d like to reiterate (because I’ve seen some comments) that you should only feel bad IF YOU HAVE A COMPLETELY NORMAL/WORKING limb!! For those of us that have preexisting conditions/chronic pain that would lead us to believe amputation would be a better option and grant us a better quality of life, there is nothing to feel bad about. Jo herself went down the road of elective amputation because she believed it to be a healthier/less painful option. (If you suffer from BIID, than this doesn’t apply to you either.) Just echoing Jo’s statement throughout her video. Love you Jo! 💜
I had my leg amputated below the knee on November 5 2019. and I still need a wheelchair to get around because my other foot was torn off in a farm accident when I was 17. Now this thursday they are testing me for infection in the only foot I have left and if it is I will lose that foot also leaving me with no feet. So go ahead and fantasize and maybe it will happen and you can experiance all the pain and all the things you wont be able to do anymore. Life sucks for me now.
I think abled people overestimate the efficiency of technology. Like they're sure technology is better than human bodies. It's really not x)
Yup, while the technology is improving all the time it's going to be many years yet before it gets there IMO, and even then the price for parts that are genuinely better will mean only the crazy rich can afford them.
Yeah, it's only better than a human body part if your human body part is in really really terrible shape.
Perhaps they weren't being serious and simply like science fiction. Cyberpunk 2077.
Yes obviously I meant "better than a quite functioning human body" because sure mobility aids and medical devices helps when something dysfunctions.
It's like people saying "you use a wheelchair because you're lazy" how would moving around with your arms (weaker than your legs) somethings heavier than you body (your body + the wheelchair) be easier than walking ??? It's just not. Unless you're legs are bad or some other issues. There's no advantage of having a wheelchair if you're not disabled. It is efficient for us, but not more efficient than abled legs like what the hell are you thinking ??
I mean, if I lose a limb or something, at least I know that the prostethic WILL be more efficient and cooler than my real limb. One day
She is so kind and forgiving with her explanations, even when it’s clear these comments get on her nerves! 🥰
After watching my father loose his leg id never even wish it on my worst enemy... the pain and all is no joke
Please Anne, reply to me. Please see my other comments. If you had cancer, and amputation would save your life, would you consent? I know that I would NOT!!!
@@gordanazakula4927 if it would save my life 100% I would. I have 2 young kids I couldn't leave behind... but then I'm also the person who has taken the BRCA test and would have had a mastectomy and hysterectomy as preventative if it came back positive....
I've lost the tips of 2 fingers and can vouch for that.
I have a disability and I honestly don’t know what people think they’ll get out of it? The inability to form relationships because you always feel like you’re being a pain or limiting what your friends/partner can do? The ridiculous expenses that come with being chronically ill? Or just the generally feeling terrible a large percentage of the time? All sounds super fun to me.
If you think it through you don't want it. People tend to only dream of the bright side and not even acknowledge the dark parts, because they just don't want to think about it.
And for you- These thoughts are totally understandable, I don't know how you deal with them. I just hope you have a good outlet. There are enough people who don't think you are a pain and not feel limeted by your disability. If they are not willing to put up with you, they don't have to stay, and for your sake they shouldn't (not just for disabled people). It is definitely ok for you to feel unwell, even for days or weeks. It comes with horrible thoughts, but they don't stay if you don't drown yourself in them. It won't be easy.
I used to want a disability when I was younger. I don’t have depth perception, but my eyes work fine so that’s not considered a disability. I can’t do lots of the things required for sports because of it, like catching flying objects and not falling over kerbs and jumping off/onto objects. I wanted something to make people understand I was trying, that I wasn’t being lazy, I just knew I wouldn’t be able to do it without hurting myself. I have done so on occasion, when I push myself too hard, or if I’m careless. People understand “disability” and I didn’t have the words to express what was going on for a long time. I didn’t know why I couldn’t do things, let alone explain to other people. It’s not a recognised thing, and doesn’t matter except in specific circumstances. But those circumstances pop up more often than you’d expect.
Funnily enough, I do actually have a recognised disability: I’m dyslexic. That also went undetected for a really long time, until I was 17. I’m just good at adapting, but I wanted some kind of explanation for the amount of effort I was putting in to get the same results others could get without trying. Being able to say with two words that things are harder for me in specific areas of my life is really useful. Then I don’t get accused of being lazy when I’m trying my hardest. It feels wrong, being able to call my dyslexia a disability when it went undetected for so long but not being able to say the same for my other struggle, which has arguably had much more of an impact on my life. It feels wrong to be able to get help, because I’ve never been severe enough to be recognised. I’m so used to struggling, and finding my own ways around a problem.
I can understand wanting a disability for the acknowledgment that things are harder for you than the average human, and your best effort may look different. But then that’s just my life experience, and obviously it’s nowhere near the scale of chronic pain or amputation on the way it puts limitations on my life. I’m sorry if this came off as rude or entitled.
@@truebrew2004 Having no depth perception can be classed as a disabilty. You don't need to be registered blind or visually impaired for vision issues to be classed as a disability. To me if it was something you wanted I would class you as disabled from it due the issues you have with kerbs, falling objects etc. Especially if your issues have caused you to knock things over, trip over things, fall over, struggle to access pavements/sidewalks or stairs.
Under UK law for example:
"You’re disabled if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities."
ADHD is definitely something not to romanticize, you become forgetful, an insomniac, unable to focus
I am not an amputee and I would never EVER want to chop one of my limbs off.
Being happy while having a disability gets you automatically categorised as a “brave and positive inspiration!” If everyone with a disability was sad and told everyone how horrible it is when people ask any questions, no one would “want” to be disabled. But because we act and talk normal when we’re different we are “amazing”. No we are just people who can talk without crying just like everyone else 😂
I'm a Right Above Knee Amputee and considered a "shorty" by my PT because my limb was cut off 8" above the knee and don't have much left on the right leg. I lost it because of a lack of circulation because of arteriosclerosis and plaque build up in the arteries below the knee. Artificial arteries were rejected by my body. I'd give anything to have it back.
Mark, please see my replies, and please answer me. I have type two diabetes, and would NOT consent to amputation, even if it would cost me my LIFE!!!
Hi sorry you have disability but when you say you you would give anything to have your leg back make sure it's not your life because you matter and without you the would wouldn't be as good
I do notice that the "inspirational" view of disability is applied much less to people with invisible disabilities. I personally have never felt that pressure. I largely run into skepticism about my need and the narrative that I'm probably playing things up to get special treatment.
GalacticGuava If my invisible disabilities are acknowledged, I’m denied accommodations/empathy as I’m supposed to “overcome” them, so why bother inconveniencing ableds?
saraquill I hear ya saraquill. Loud and clear. So I don’t ask. And neither do they. Unfortunate it is.
GG, I have depression, cannot do ANYTHING!!! People call me a "lazy fat cow", no one understands me!!!
@Angelica Cline the grass is always greener I guess. Personally I'd rather my disability be visible so I wouldn't be denied accommodations or be called lazy for needing them. When you can't live up to the same expectations as everyone else people just assume it's a character failure and blame you for it.
Just seeing your "night leg routine" I can't understand someone would deliberately want to amputate their leg for fun.
I have BIID, and I find watching your videos helpful for reminding me of the pitfalls, downsides, and complications being an amputee comes with.
I'm not sure if I have biid or if I just am romanticicing amputation. Would it be OK for you to tell me about the symptoms of Biid? Maybe then I can figure it out...
@@rosegranger2872 it is different for each person. In my case, I have had obsessive thoughts about amputating my legs below the knee for as long as I can remember (since at least around 5 years old). I've always felt like my feet don't belong there. My sense of touch on my feet feels different than the rest of my body, hyper sensitive to some types of stimuli, nearly dead to others. When I remember my dreams, I am usually an amputee in them. Probably a few more things that I'm not thinking of, but those are the highlights.
@@rosegranger2872 I don't have personal experience with it, but from what I've learned it seems like there's a disconnect between how your body is in real life and how it is in your mind. Like if you've ever worn clothes or makeup that were really not your style at all and when you looked in the mirror you were surprised by what you saw and thought, "I'm clearly wearing this but I don't look like me." But more intense and persistent because it's a part of your body that you can't take off at will
It could be mentioned that BIID isn't a mental illness, and the only known successful treatment is to provide the desired amputation. Current research shows possible (intractable) neurological causes.
How terribly sad 😥
I used to think I had BIID when I was a kid because I wished I could be in a power wheelchair. Now in retrospect I am realizing that it was because I have several chronic illnesses now, that I might have had these illnesses as a kid too and I just really wanted to be able to go places without so much pain... but i was told it was normal to want to die all the time because of my constant agony, so I just pushed myself beyond the point of what would be considered reasonable.
Very well put. I'm sorry you're getting comments like this directed toward you. I imagine that it's really uncomfortable to hear those things. I'm not an amputee; my disability is severe PTSD. I have a service dog to help me live life more like a normal person. It's always SO uncomfortable to hear things like "Wow, I wish I had PTSD/was disabled! Then I could take MY dog everywhere! You're so lucky!" Like. Whoa. Full stop. No. It's my life and I've gotta make the most of it, but if I could choose to not be disabled (and not take a dog everywhere), I would in a second.
Like i have ptsd and my dog (gotten as an emotional support dog) developed severe anxiety so i cant take him out and the only way he helps my anxiety is by making me seem less anxious
Having a service dog is lovely, but at the same time its SUCH a pain in the butt. It's like having a toddler strapped to you hip 24/7. They have issues just like any dog. Sometimes they get sick, and have diarrhea, or have a rough day. You can't go ANYWHERE if they're out of commission, and sometimes you just want to do things and not have to worry about you dog, like going to a tjeme park. Who's gonna hold him while I ride the roller coaster? It's HARD, and people just don't get it. That being said, my dog is my life and I couldn't live without him
I’m a left below knee amputation from a work accident caused by a wreck less equipment operator who pretty much crushed my body from my left eye socket down to my lost leg, the accident was in 2013 and I’m still having surgeries to put me back together...nine surgeries so far 2 years in a nursing home, 1.5 years in a assisted care independent apartment add the post surgery infections and the physical therapy of learning to walk again after 4 years of not walking it took 3 months to be independent of a walker!! and yes you are out of your mind or have a mental condition that you need help for There’s nothing fun about wearing a prosthetic, you can’t walk on uneven ground without a cane or walking poles, you can’t go down any steep terrain such as a river bank, etc...the people you see running marathons or climbing mt Everest have either won a huge lawsuit or have rich families or sponsors. Insurance, worker’s compensation and Medicare only cover the basic walking leg. Mine cost 25,000 that’s including 2 2,000 liners and shim sock set. Every year as your liners wear out and your stump shrinks you must get refitted to a new socket at a cost of 10,000 and the approval process can take months mean while you are getting sores and infections from the poor fit..I’ve been up to 18 plys waiting on approval. Yes I’m grateful to be alive and able to walk, sorry about the rant I just couldn’t believe someone would want this electively
To those who want to have a carbon fiber rocket foot just because it looks cool, and you don't need to lose a limb because your situation doesn't call for it, (Jo hit the nail on the head!) There are amazing tattoo artists that specialize in biomechanical art styles. If you want the look, but you don't require amputation to live a better life, and are ok with tattoos, go that route instead! Also, actual carbon fiber rocket feet can cost as much as some cars (based on a $ figure from a previous video). Tattoos, depending on how far you go with the piece, usually do not.
Or just build an extra leg and have three?
Jo: “you could be literally anywhere in the world doing literally anything right now”
Me: “global pandemic, not allowed to leave my house.. nope. Nothing else to do” 🤣
People do this with mental illness, eating disorders, cancer even. Thank you for putting this out there. These people really do need help
Footless Jo!
Big Respect for your Sanity & Clarity.
love
Steve Holliday
As someone with biid I just want to say I really appreciate your compassion and understanding towards it.
People will fetishize anything.
That is very accurate. Lol.
If there's a thing. Someone will fetishise it
Well there are what, 7 billion of us out there? So yeah, probability is that any conceivable fetishes there's someone with it.
I'm already left scratching my head in confusion at some of the less extreme stuff I've heard of. 🤨🤷♂️
daivahataka furry rat porn lmao
@@ncrtrooper8786 there are those that do nasty things with maggots. 🤮
Then there's the whole 2 girls and a cup type stuff where it seems they are just begging to catch a disease.
Aww your dog is so cute
Dogs are the best almost as good as cats
But where are the cats? LOL
I never said there was cats i the video just like them better than dogs but that is only better i don't have a dog but I have 2 cats
Hi Jo! The only reason for people to want to become an amputee I can think of is the need of attention. People want to feel special, and be noticed by others.
I myself am an disabled person with a normally-looking body (MS) Because my disability is not visible from the first sight, I feel that people don't notice it and don't know how difficult it really is (not being able to use your body even though it looks perfectly ok)
Hi Jo. Good point made. Seven surgeries in 13 months starting with toes 9/19, and my BKA 9/21/20. Yay, start of fall. It's been a slow realization that I now can't just hop up to let the dogs in. I process and pattern everything. When I lost my toes, in the back of my mind I was thinking "oh god, what if it keeps going?" But once it was done I decided "Hey, it's part of my life now." I'm waiting for my first appointment to get going on a leg. I had the nurses laughing telling them I want the one The Rock had in Skyscraper. He hung upside down from that puppy. Lol. I would love to have two meat feet back, but diabetes said no. So now I'm embracing the change but will also shout from the mountain top KEEP YOUR LEG to anyone who might have those misguided thoughts.
I walked around with a nerve damaged limb that was slowly dying for 29 years, I never would wish for that. Being an amputee is now even more difficult; at least until I get a prosthetic, I can’t imagine wanting this. How ever since I constantly make jokes people think it’s really not all that bad.
I deal with stress by using self deprecating humour wish people would realise that being an amputee is actually serious and while its circumstances it puts me in are funny it’s not fun for one moment.
yeah, humour is a coping mechanism, but joking about it doesn't mean that it's really fun all the time.
I never realized that people feel that way. Your videos have actually kind of scared me about losing my leg. I see things that you do and realize that I couldn't do all that you do because of my weight. I couldn't get off the floor without help now because of my bad leg and I would think it would be a hundred times worse without my leg. I wouldn't wish my pain upon anyone though.
Thank you so much for broaching this topic because taking on personal identities for the aesthetic underscores the the limits of our empathy. This notion that struggle and pain is something cool or fashionable to constantly live suggests that the experience of those who might be marginalized is reducible to a single aspect of their life, when it’s not that simple. Know that asking for an identity you don’t have comes with struggles you will never know that are not as glamorous.
I have hidden chronic ilnesses and sometimes I wish that I had a "visible" means of showing that something was wrong with me. Too many times people and doctors don't believe me because they can not see what is wrong with me. I understand that there are many other struggles when you can visually see that something is wrong with someone but sometimes I find it hard because I look "great". Several years ago when my ankle injury wouldn't heal I had a doctor joke that we would need to amputate but I also felt like it was only a half joke as nothing was working. Thankfully after 5 years it got better but there was a time when I seriously wondered if I would one day need amputation and I am thankful it didn't come to that. Now my pain doc jokes about amputation for my headaches.... (I am serious)
Yes i relate to this so much! I have been dealing w constant pain in both ankles for over 3 years now, and the number of people who get confused when I turn down an invitation to go somewhere even though I look fine, when really I have just perfected the art of acting like I'm not in pain all the time. I still don't have a diagnosis, but am working w specialists so will hopefully get there soon, but yeah I sometimes wish I just had something visible, or at least something predictable, as even if I am just sitting the pain often flairs up.
I love that you always say you wouldn't choose to amputating your leg in a perfect world.
I think inspiration porn contributes to this. Living with a disability is so hard, but we make it work.
When I was 14 years old my knee dislocated. When I got older I had to have the knee replaced. That discussion to have a replace my knee took me over three years and a lot of pain. I did it but I am not thrilled with the way it is today. They cut my bones in my leg to put medal there. Can no longer use my knee to get up if I fall. It works ok for getting around. Not like my knee when I was younger. The other knee needs surgery now. Going to take longer this time. This was my good knee while the other was always a problem.
Love your vlog. Look for it every day. PORT PERRY ONTARIO CANADA
I had a friend a long time ago who had a little boy who really liked me for some reason. He even tore the leg of his Teddy bear. But he was also 3.
Cute kid but he was totally obsessed with my "robot leg"
@@kommandantvalentine6272 Okay. Not sure what that has to do with my comment though.
Hey jo your videos always makes me smile! Have a great day everyone!
You go girl, that was deep and I am grateful that you are so willing to share.
It should be obvious I guess, but I'm glad you've addressed this issue. Well done!
Thank so much for voicing the same thing I feel about my own disability. It is not worth trading for it.
I'm not going to lie, since I started watching your videos a few months ago, I have had the realization that life would be difficult but still very much doable (excuse my phrasing) if something ever happened and I lost a foot. But to watch your videos and think that losing a foot would be "cool" (BIID aside) is something I cannot understand.
As an amputatee, I find those comments insulting. We all wish we have the body parts we lost! You have not romanticized anything. You are just real. BTW I have balance issues and my BK prosthetic leg helps me balance better.
Jo, I have watched several of your videos documenting the struggles you have gone through and how well you have been dealing with the difficulties and pain you have had to endure through a large portion of your life. Perhaps some of your viewers have completely missed (because you always present yourself being so happy) all the discomfort, pain, and difficulties you have talked about in your videos. I personally would really struggle getting through life with the issues that plague people with disabilities. The reason I watch your videos is because I am impressed with how well you deal with your issues and at the same time stay so upbeat most of the time. I can't imagine any sensible human being wanting to voluntarily give up one of their limbs unless, like you had a painful situation and the only relief was through amputation. I hope those people get help before they harm themselves.
Hi Jo I am a new amputee so your videos have been very helpful to me ....this journey is very very difficult and i am just getting my prosthetic on Tuesday but your videos have beena lift and comfort!Thanks !
I Know You Did The Right Positive Moral Judgment In Your Current Video About Romanticizing. Your Are AMAZING
There is a conditions called BIID/BIDD (forget the correct acronym :| ) but they genuinely believe they should have a limb, should be in a wheelchair despite having 0 real health reasons to use one, etc. So thanks for mentioning that. Its rarely brought up in these types of videos.
Otherwise, its purely romanizing it. It also could be the "I want to be saved" so they jump to illness type thing. Which happens with depression SO OFTEN its disheartening.
Its frustrating. I'm disabled, can't find a treatment that works, lost all my friends, fight with family to respect my limits, beg doctors to do their job and test me for crap and write down my symptoms, etc etc. I'm my advocate, my support system, my best friend, my worst enemy, my bully, my lover, my world. I am all I got. And I have been for years. The isolation alone is so damn hard. Let alone interpersonal relationships and such.
I have been rejected for my health, I have been told I'm giving up when my legs are paralyzed and I can't walk, that I'm lieing when they can see me having a panic attack and clawing open my skin and bleeding, that I'm making it up when I'm vomiting my stomach out and coughing out my lungs. And that's the physical. At least most of that they can see. The mental health that they can't see? Its never, ever taken seriously. Even what little is diagnosed. Its often shrugged off. "Every teen is depressed" "just stop being anxious" "just get out of bed and go outside more" etc. And fail to realize the physical part greatly impacts the mental, and both make each other worse.
So tell me, What is so cool about others debating you health? Having it be the controversial topic in the house? Having doctors tell you you painted your leg when its purple, or that for 6+ years you've had growing pains when you've stayed 5'8. How is never being able to talk about your health in fear it will be to much, how your body working against you, how the world never understanding cool? Tell me that.
I have multiple undiagnosed health conditions. Because I'm not paralyzed 24/7, and it happens randomly, I'm lieing to everyone
When I'm stuck in bed, all I can do is say I'm lieing and need to get up. I'm never believed. And for so many, it gets to the point they've been told they aren't sick for so long they are getting worse and worse and break. It takes a breaking point to get help. When the red flags had been up and there for years. The 4+ years diagnosis time is sad. The marginalized communities not being believed is sad. The fact you have doctors Calling you a lier is sad.
Im mentally ill, I'm physically ill. And the diagnosis process for me will be years upon years and very, very pricy.
Don't ever say you want to be disabled. But don't say you'd want to die if you were disabled. Just validate the ones with disabilities and say if it were to happen to you you would make the most of life.
Sorry to go off. But the amount of times I've heard shit that romanized my life that is constantly being worsened by others opinions, to be told my suffering is a cute aesthetic.
Your the reason doctors don't believe me.
If you think you truly, and I mean truly, have a problem like your passing out or been really down and lost interest in things for a while, go see a doctor. But don't go "I've been sad for a hour guess I'm depressed". Illnesses are not adjectives.
And I'll end this here. Running out of energy and my hot water bottle is getting cold lol.
I can relate heavily to this in kind of a different way though. My disability, though I'm not missing limbs, they do give me a hard time, I'm not able to be very mobile for long stretches at a time... And I've heard many times over the years how nice it must be to "not have to work that much" or "be exempt from (blank) in school" among many others. But I'm just like no, you're not jealous of me at all. Yes you have to work but you also have all of your mobility and can do so many things without even thinking about them. I have to think about everything in terms of "if I do thing A today I won't be able to do thing B tomorrow, which is more important" no one wants that. Some envy my disability support, but I'd so much rather be able to fully support myself like a normal person... The grass always looks greener I guess?
When I was a kid, I somehow thought a normal part of being in a wheelchair, or having a prosthetic limb, was being an extra-ordinary athlete.
Probably because those people are a large part of what's shown in media.
@@darkiee69 I guess it's better than when all we ever saw was people who were very miserable and needed help with everything they did? I really hope someday we learn to tell a variety of stories though and not just one. Then maybe it would be easier for kids (and adults) to learn that people with disabilities are just normal people but with a disability, and that they're all different from each other just like everyone else is.
I never got that message from your channel. I'm a newer viewer (found you this summer) While I don't have a prosthetic limb, I do deal with chronic illnesses. And I would never ever wish them on anyone. I too could make a 10 minute edited video of my day and make it look fun, interesting and inspiring but the reality is that many days are filled with exhaustion, tears, pain, people judging me, limitations from my own body ... so anyone who wishes this on themselves ... i don't know what to say.
When I was 1/2 way through rehab, the therapist said to me, “We SHOULD be able to have you running marathons again!” I looked at her dumbfounded for a moment. “Ok...? I never ran anything or anywhere before...” pointing to my newly prosthetized leg. “Oh...weren’t you the marathon runner?” I burst out laughing. Athlete I have NEVER been. Between my left BKA and an AFO brace on my right for drop foot...some days I still use a wheelchair (4 yrs after amputation) for anything that’s longer than to the car and back kind of distances.
I would definitely NEVER have chosen this route in life, though I do, like you said, the best I can with what I have. There’s not a day that goes by that wishes I hadn’t got those 3rd degree burns to the bottoms of my feet...not a day that I don’t wish I had taken a few moments of packing the family stuff for the water park and put my pool shoes in. When little kids talk to me about me “cool robot leg” I tell them enough to let them know, “I’m ok, but it was an accident and a real leg and your own super strong bones are WAY more strong and powerful, and cool! So take care of them and be safe!.” I don’t want to scare them, but also not to promote that a prosthetic/robot leg is something to strive or wish for. Parents always look horrified when kids ask. I don’t mind, they are curious, they think it’s a cool robot leg cause of tv and movies. The odd child understands it’s cause I got hurt.
But as you say Jo....NO ONE WANTS THIS!! Thanks for sharing. 😊
WELL SAID JO! Why anybody would want to have a body part amputated boggles me! I've watched Jo's videos and deeply respect her. She has shown that life doesn't stop after an amputation, and that one can still enjoy a fulfilling active life as an amputee.
I have no doubt though that she must have agonized over hsving part of her leg amputated. Likely had sleepless nights overly. She no doubt hoped there would be a better option. But ultimately, having the amputation was the best option due to ongoing pain and discomfort from complications relating to an earlier accident.
I remember seeing the movie "The Fault in our Stars", a movie about a teenage girl with terminal cancer.
My niece said she wishes she had a cancer because she thought some happy romance would come from it.
Cancer is NOTHING to feel good about, and romance is virtually out of the question. Having a leg amputated is much preferable to cancer. Buy it is nothing to want or wish for.
I think this is the same type of effect like when you read a YA novel and empathise with the characters so much you do occasionally find yourself thinking "I want to be in a post-apocalyptic dystopia and lose everything I take for granted and fight for my life every day." I think it's a combination of admiration of a specific person/binging their content and being surrounded by them and the fascination of the unknown/fantastical. Most people, however, know not to voice these thoughts out loud because they realise how bad that actually sounds and how disrespectful it is to people actually struggling. In the end, my hope is that these people will get over these fleeting thoughts and, should they ever actually be in a situation where they actually face losing a limb, be a little less scared during this very tough time.
I have a developmental disability (yeah, Autism Spectrum Disorder) and I can relate to this. Because I'm in a "nerdy" field, I've heard people say "Oh, I wish I have ASD so that I can disregard the social rules" and something like that. I was like... ummmm, no, you don't want to deal with the shutdowns, meltdowns, sensory overloads. Being an Aspie is amazing, sure, I loved seeing the world differently, but if I'm not an Aspie... at least I won't have a meltdown just because I went on a road trip, or deal with a sensory overload the night before an exam. In my teen years, I thought that I would be closer to my potential if I don't have ASD. Now I wouldn't give up the way my brain is for anything because if I don't love my brain, who will. However, I also think they shouldn't give up the way their brains are just for the sake of being "unique". Let's just all be who we are, instead of romanticizing who we are not.
Thank you for putting it into words..... Your channel, has given me more insight to that life. Before i got to "know you" i kinda romaticed it aswell, so THNAK YOU, for educating me, and others, on this
This is a little different, but kind of similar:
I used to feel really disconnected and uncomfortable with my left arm. I had fantasized about just getting rid of it. Sometimes even joking about having a robot arm.
Now that I use a cane, I am so grateful I have two arms. Trying to do anything without my “good” arm is so difficult, and if I only had the one it would be so much worse.
I still am not a fan of my left arm. But my god is it a lifesaver at times.
As someone who, while not having this particular thing to this extent, did hope that there was something *wrong* with me or that there would be so at least I'd have an excuse for how much I struggled with so many things...I think a part of it can also be actually having an invisible and undiagnosed disability where everything that's hard for you due to being disabled is put down to personal failure by others and, because you've always been taught that that was the case, yourself so you kind of wish that at least you had some "excuse" for failing again and again at seemingly simple things nobody else struggles with.
Not even just in the way of having it as an excuse, but just of not constantly "failing" because "you're not good enough" which can really, really drag your self-esteem down.
So, I guess...if anyone out there has those experiences, if you make that kind of experience over and over again, really focus on wheather it's *actually* due to a lack of trying or wheather that's just what the world wants you to believe. If you keep trying and keep failing, wheather you have something that can be diagnosed or wheather you are diagnosed, you shouldn't beat yourself up for things that you really can't do or that you can't do without a huge personal cost.
I’m an bellow the knee amputee I agree with you 100 percent in my case it saved my life that I had to get my right foot amputated
Not an amputee but have multiple chronic illnesses and chronic ankle pain, and the romanticized idea of disabilities and chronic illnesses can be so frustrating. The amount of times I’ve heard “I wish I had what you do so I could get better parking/get out of gym class” (I have a handicap parking pass), while I’m here begging to not have this life anymore. Wouldn’t wish any of this on my worst enemy.
Mild mild MILD rebuttal to your point at around 8:10 ish - where you said that when you were younger you almost wished that you would have that something difficult to deal with: I was the same; but then i grew up, i found out I have a very painful condition that, in retrospect, i've been dealing with my whole life, but nobody recognized the symptoms of. I wonder if it was less "wishing that I was also in pain" and more "I wish that someone would recognize and acknowledge the pain I'm in and how hard it is for me" with a little bit of "I wish I could have that storybook arc of feeling better about myself". Frankly, I'm pretty sure that's what it was for me. And while I might be projecting here - it's not like I know what's going on in your head (hopefully good things) - I know you dealt with a lot of physical pain growing up, which culminated in where you are today. Maybe we're similar in this? (but, note, i still have all my limbs, i just have a lot of chronic pain and a questionable fibromyalgia diagnosis)
Which isn't to say that all of these comments come from this place, but they could explain a handful.
ps: I love this video and I think what you said was so important, and I'm so sorry that you even had to handle these comments in the first place - it's a very tricky situation. I hope that the people who do feel that way can recognize why they feel that way and work towards a solution for it, like I did - even if that solution is just acknowledging your own struggles, and allowing yourself to be okay with what your own body feels.
I have an invisible disability and I would not wish it on anyone. It's horrible. I recently switched to working remotely even after lockdown because I got lucky with my workplace, but it's still not fun. The strain on family and friends is real even if they don't cut you off, the way people make me a fetish is bizarre, the extra expenses are so draining. Great video Jo, you put it so well. I always love your videos.
Try to be the person in the commercial doing cool things in general. We all have struggles yours are valid! You can overcome them and feel like a super hero.
I would not suggest getting a limb transplant myself, thinking about limb transplants in a video you did Jo... after loosing my left leg and surviving with organ transplants, as well, for the dangerous side effects of anti-rejection medications. But to each it is their own choice. I have had a lot of skin cancer surgeries due to anti - rejection medication side effects... and more... a prosthetic is better for my life than another transplant... and none of it is simple or easy... and this is not fun at all. Learning whom my donor was in 2014... for me another mental nightmare at times... as well as good... but all of it I would not have done if my body wasn't so fucked up due to catastrophic health issues as my insurance calls it. It isn't damned well romantic at all... living 24/7 fighting to survive with a ton of health issues... beyond normal. My donor whom died was a ballet and jazz dancer and her left kidney survives in my body... and I lost her pancreas in my body in 2018 and it nearly killed me, than three months later due to a vein they removed from my left leg to plug her left kidney in my body to my bladder so I could elimate poisons from my body through her kidney ... my left leg got a bone infection and had to be amputated. Her pancreas survived a year and half longer than statistics in my body, and her left kidney is still alive... but I sure as hell would have never wanted her to die to save my life and she was only 19 and a ballet and jazz dancer so it all is not so damned simple as many assume, and miracles that saved my life came at a tremendous price. In the lady that died... so i' simpt isn't simple... ever... nor something I would have wanted and I expected to die on December 7th, 2011 when my donors organs were sewn into my body so being alive is insane but how things work... through all of the mess. Romantic... many things in life are beyond all of the crap people assume... and humans piss me off assuming things that I can't even beign to explain here... but wish you the best in what you do... and your videos help me out a lot... but thoughts on limb transplants are not so hopeful for what I do survive with organ transplants. My donor's pancreas nearly killed me in 2018 and it was cut out and five and half feet of my small intesrtines, then lost a leg... it isn't something I would wish for any human on this planet to survive, but it worked for what is left of what I am... and I feel like a living tomb for the lady that saved my life... and her epitaph... she was Lady Morgan Leigh Judd and she was a ballet and jazz dancer from age three to age nineteen when she legally died and her body was cut to pieces to save lives... all of it bothers me every damned day I wake up for what it took to be alive with this miracle that came at a tremendous price financially over two million dollars and seventy grand a year in medicine for anti rejection to stay alive and then my donors life and life time she had lost... all of it is not easy... ever... and glad you posted this today. It isn't romantic at all. This is the lady that died and saved my life in this link and the first time I saw this I lost it... for a few days in sorrow for whom she was... in 2014, three years after she had saved my life on an operating table... and I have survived eight and half years thanks to her organ transplants, her left kidney still alive in my body, but having issues with it now... that are not a cure... transplants are miraculous... but not a cure as so many assumed that really piss me off some times that think I was normal again when I was working and functioning well for six and half years befor eher pancreas died in my body and nearly killed me... and that was like a funeral for me and I didn't tell her family... it devastated me mentally... for the price of my life for a while, like a funeral. But this lady is the most amazing human I ever met... Lady Morgan Leigh Judd... this was the first video I ever saw of her not long before she died and I lost it... for a while... sorrow hit me like a tidal wave for her family, she was the only daughter... she had brothers and a twin brother... but her fathers only daughter and he wrote about his last trip with her, he went to New York to watch the Yankees play baseball... but instead took her to Broadway for a show and more and didn't realize it would be the last trip he took with his daughter for life... none of it is ever easy... but glad I signed the legal documents to know her father and really understand what the price of my life surviving is all about.... th-cam.com/video/r6GIOo6gBGM/w-d-xo.html ... wish you a good day and all those that follow you. It isn't romantic surviving this kind of thing, it kills me for the sorrow at times beyond words. Never would I wish this on my worst enemies in life... it isn't merciful at all... but it is a valuable lesson in life for me personally. I use a carbon fiber and titanium leg, and also have a swimming leg... for the loss of my left leg, and it doesn't even compare to what the family of my organ donor lost at all... when I think about it some days.... later... have a good weekend Jo and all your followers... loosing limbs isn't romantic... it is heartbreaking if you loose a limb the way I did through organ transplants and complications... and I do believe I shed more tears for the lady that I never met in person until her organs was sewn into my body on an operating table, and she earned my respect for her action saving lives for the most honorable thing I have ever lived to witness a human do in my life. I should have died, expected to die that day in 2011 and woke up alive. She is the best friend of my life time... keeping my blood clean with her left kidney still... now... and romantic is not a word that matches what she is to me... even though John 15 verse 13 says a lot about how I feel for what she did mentally... John 15 verse 13... King James Version... “13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man (or woman) lay down his life for his friends.” I know what this means... and it isn't easy at all... or romantic...
Hi Jo. Im so glad you made this video. Ppl see me after im all put together and think it's not that difficult(I guess I make it look super easy)😔 Anyway, a problem I have with most amp support sites is that almost always someone comes on asking for advice on deciding whether or not to amputate. A good question. But, I've been shocked to hear so many say "go for it, it's the best decision I've ever made" It seems I've been the only one playing devils advocate by asking how many medical opinions did they seek out???? Also they talk about hoping to get out of pain. And still most say "oh you'll feel so much better" WTH! How about honesty and telling ppl about phantom sensations, the long wait and process of prosthetic fittings and long wait to walk again, more surgeries, costs and not to mention healing time. You're right that being an amp has turned into a glamorous thing. Maybe the advances in prosthetic look with some badass mobility. But still ppl need to know that it's anything but glamorous. Thanks again😊
You know.. I've been following you from the start.
The reason that I keep coming back is not because I want to be like you.. as in lose a limb.
But because I admire your drive and your look on life.. That you try to keep the positive in things although sometimes its hard!
keep it up Jo!
But I might actually need amputation,
Long story short, bad accident, nerve damage , like 2 thirds of my left foot zero feeling and little to no function (lucky to have any ankle function at all)
Hi Benjamin! I'm so sorry that that is something you're facing and that you had to go through that accident! I hope I made it clear, but this video is really just for people who have no medical reason whatsoever to have an amputation but still "want" one. All the best to you friend, I hope that you have a great medical team and support going forward! 💜
Cases are always different still I had a massive reconstruction 20 odd years ago to save my leg after a motorcycle accident my foot is paralysed with little feelings and my ankle is almost blocked and I can tell you i live pretty well with that. Far much better anyway than my passenger who elected to become a BkA and never got over it ! Amputation was not an option for me and i never regretted to take this path! Adapt adapt adapt! Life with a prosthetic is not fun or glamour as some people might think .and in my opinion better a bad foot than a good prosthetic!
Some folks are experts at what they know nothing about. I admire my blind dog watching her keep on in spite of blindness. But I’m sure she wishes she had her eyes. I think the only advantage with an amputation would be a parking permit. But losing a limb wouldn’t be worth it to get that permit. I admire your keeping on attitude.
Thank you so much for this video! I personally think it´s mostly kids writing these comments. I can totally see a kid seeing you on the screen doing amazing things and handling it all so well (at least on camera) and having this cool prosthetic and thinking "omg, this is so cool! I want it too, the cool prosthetic, and all the attention she surely gets!" Like when a kid in their class has a broken arm and has a cast on it and everyone wants to sign it and pities them for it.
While I think it´s amazing how you handle it all and how you don´t seem to think any challenge is too big, I in no way envy you and I think more people should realise that.
Hi,Joe
I completelly agree with you.I became a bellow knee amputee two months ago due to horrific motorcycle accident.Your videos are helping me to see what I will experience in the future,how my life is going to be from now on,how to be positive and how to struggle with stump pain,depression,bad days,prostetic leg,financial impact,etc.
I think such coments are coming from inmature people thinking that having a "terminator" leg is a "cool" thing.I am on the half way getting a prostetic leg and I am already in hell.
I did not trully accept that I lost a limb.These comments are very dangerous as you said.Wish you all the best,jo
Greetings from Montenegro
While my prosthetic leg may look cool to some as you said, if you do not need it please do not think amputation is cool. Omg there is so much that people do not see or know about, like starting with the cost. And not just for the leg either. I am on SSI and have spent a lot in the last year for cleaning stuff for my leg, new pants/shorts etc...the list goes on. Then you got the healing time, trips to the doctor and prosthetist...its never ending! I am getting cast for my 3rd leg on Tuesday and my 1yr ampuversary is the 6th. Btw.....HAPPY 1 AMPUVERSARY FOR YOUR SECOND CHOP YESTERDAY JO! Sorry...lol. Love ya! 💜💜💜 Say hi to Brian!
I think it is a medical marvel that an artificial limb as such can be developed for those who have either lost a limb or born without one. But for one to wish for an artificial limb would be disillusioned into thinking it is cool to have in place of a real limb. The pain, the adjustments, the being without, the expense, and the life changing that is not what was dreamed of. I nearly lost my right arm in a car accident, but thanks to bone replacement I was able to receive an artificial ball in my upper arm. It will never be the same as a real bone, but thankfully I can keep my right arm and it is working very well!
Yikes, I mean, I just don't get it. I mean, I love your channel Jo, but I draw the line at wanting to lose a limb! Being diabetic, it's one of the things that terrifies me, knowing that I'm at increased risk of having an amputation during my lifetime, but it's something I try not to dwell on and certainly don't aspire to. However, your channel has maybe made me see that it's not the worst thing that could happen, and I hope that's ok too. In the meantime, I'll appreciate and look after my 2 meat legs :)
Sometimes I really have to admire how this world works, so that YOU are the one producing TH-cam- videos and I don’t, because I know I wouldn’t have the calmness of yours.
It’s just unimaginable to me how anybody with a normal, healthy and functioning body would want to willingly make life even harder than it already is (people suffering from BIID are excluded from that of course, because that’s something different).
As glad as I am that prosthetics are available they are still harder to use than a regular foot. Not to mention pain, chronic pain is the worst.
I feel this video so much. I have a disability that can wildly vary in its impact on my mobility. I spent two years on forearm crutches unable to walk on my own. I recently regained independent mobility and no longer use them daily. I still need the crutches past a certain exertion point (so like, I hike with them) there is no guarantee of how long I will keep independent mobility. While I was on the crutches for any and all walking, I had so many people be like "omg those are so cool I wish I needed crutches!" Like, wtf? Sure, after a while I developed a symbiotic relationship with them, and they are pretty neat looking (plug for SideStix) especially to people not used to seeing that style but to WISH for the NEED of their use? *No please stop.* They see the crutches and they imagine them in addition to their perfectly functioning body. Not in addition to the inability to move through the world without them. I am doing literally everything in my power to stay where I am now.
I have medical conditions and I hate when people say that they wish they had things wrong with them
I have for a long time really wanted a lot of different experiences because then I could relate to people and I could help. A specific one is "I wanna try to break a bone one day just for the experience" like obviously I don't wanna go through that kind of pain and stuff but I wanna be able to relate to people when they break something. This is something that I am trying a lot to stop wanting but it is kinda difficult.
Hey Jo I have Cerebral Palsy I have a hip the is hurting I was thinking of doing that same thing but after listening to my parents telling me the exact thing you just said “keep all you limbs” as long as you can. Thank you. I love watching you you are awesome I have family in Colorado.
I tore my ACL and had a leg brace until it got fixed. It was so frustrating to put on. I couldn't sit in it. It moved out of place when I walked. I'm so thankful my surgery was pretty successful. I don't know what I would do if I faced the decision you did but I'm thankful for you and your educational videos.
I have several disabilities that can cause me to have to be sent home on occasion and recently a coworker told me i was too disabled to work and should just quit so our boss can hire someone better. Note that she isnt on the same shift as me and my boss has no complaints about my work nor do any of my coworkers since they know i work my ass off. This was legit 2 days after i literally worked for 4 hours on my day off showing signs of building up to a migrane siezure till i called myself an ambulance
My mother, who was born with arthrogryposis, and a disability rights activist, used to refer to this idolization of people with disabilities as "Supercrip" syndrome (we even drafted a superhero with the moniker) or "incredible crips." So everytime we watched a TV segment featuring someone with a disability as "inspiring," we would both say outloud, "It's Supercrip!" Then we'd laugh.
People would walk up to her in crutches and braces in the grocery store with three toddlers in tow and say things like, "Oh, you amazing." She was quick to point out that *any* woman who raises three toddlers as, for all intensive purposes, a single mother, is pretty impressive. But it's a slippery slope when we worship anybody.
A pedestal is just a confining place as any jail cell.
I think a lot of us with CRPS wish we could amputate the area in which we suffer most, but it would just spread. Thank you for a reminder that pain is treated many different ways and we're all just people.
Being disabled in general is very difficult. Finding dr's who specialize in the illnesses you have, getting them to believe you... it took 46 years to get my first major diagnosis for conditions that have plagued me since infancy. I don't go to the ER for emergencies because I'm a pain management patient, thus I'm labeled a "drug seeker"... which is idiotic as I have pain meds! If I go to the ER, it's because I have a medical emergency. I've been laughed at, thrown out, misdiagnosed, given a pregnancy test(after giving my med history of a historectomy), and asked "what do you expect ME to do?", by an ER Dr. If I can't get into my primary Dr, I suffer and wait.
~~~ A nice hello my internet friend. It is a JOY to view your videos. You uplift us out here and a wise young lady . I hit your like bell and leave a comment when I am here. You and your husband enjoy everything you can
and I care about you...
I relate to this in a weird way! As someone who spend the latter part of my childhood in the care system I’ve had people say to me “wow I wish I was in care, it sounds so fun” because they’ve watched Tracy Beaker or some similar programme. I don’t think it comes from a bad place, I think people just want to experience things they don’t get to. The grass is always greener on the other side I guess.
That's the exact adage I was thinking of with this. 😊
All I got out of becoming disabled was being unable to work, living in a hotel and losing contact with people i thought were friends. I used to have a good attitude until I found myself all alone. Last night I fell out of a chair while making dinner. After fighting to get back up for 30 minutes I finally had to crawl into another part of my room and call 911. That included crawling into the bathroom to use the support bars to try to pull myself up. What's so glamorous about that?
I have a psychiatric disability. It can be as debilitating as a missing limb or a sense. I won't say I want to lose a limb persay. However I would exchange my invisible disability for a fully able mind. I'm also legally blind in my left eye. I don't think any other disability would mean my challenges would go away. My greatest fear is my disability will be unmanageable before my death. I will be 65 this year. I never thought what you went through learning to adjust was easy.
Thank you for this Jo 🤗🥰🤗
I can't be 100% but it may also be that these comments come from young people/children who see this 'epic' bit of hardware and how you relearn to do things you did previously on it and because many children haven't necessarily fully developed their ability to think critically they don't fully understand what it means when they type those things. Completely agree with your video, whatever the reason for the comments, it's important that it's explained the reality of the situation so people properly understand. Not an amputee but I've learnt a lot from your channel about various things that come with being an amputee, the most important one being mental health challenges that come along with it (You've obviously discussed more stuff but just keeping to the topic of the video)
I honestly have thought that before but never said it, sometimes it just feels like my own disability would be taken more seriously if it were something that other people could see instead of something that they have to take my word for, but luckily I've grown a lot since I used to think that kind of thing and I think this video is compassionate and informative, 10/10
I just love her content and it is enjoyable to watch. Yes I did at first thank she is very beautiful then I came to the realization that I would never have a chance with her so I just watch her videos 😊
As I am a left BKA and also I have no toes on my right foot. Amen Jo
The amount of pain I’m in has made me request that they cut off my lower left arm.
That’s what’s finally made my doctors realise how much pain I’m suffering and finally hopefully going to get some surgery to try repair the nerves and make my left hand tolerable again. My hand is essential for my music but after this long of pain I’d rather not play anymore to stop the pain. I can’t bend my elbow, wiggle a finger, and even if I breathe too deeply it feels like lava is pouring down my arm culminating in being stabbed violently and repeatedly in the hand. But because I’m a positive person and always look relatively well put together, doctors just ignored my pleas. Hope this makes sense, I didn’t say it to romaniticise it, I said it to help illustrate how far I’d be willing to go to get some relief.
I'm so sorry you haven't been listened to and believed about your pain. It's disappointing how common that is, especially for women. I hope you can finally get some relief soon!
You are a great video creator, and I love how you’ve documented what you’re going through and how you’re living this new way of life. I don’t get how people wouldn’t look up to you dealing with change and instead of thinking maybe I shouldn’t have a leg, why not reflect your resilience or mindset into your own life with whatever you’re dealing with? Like that would make sense 😂
Now I feel a bit guilty.
I think I have commented that you make having an artificial leg look cool.
I understand completely that it entails all sorts of hardships that I cannot understand and hopefully never will have to.
My comment was intended as a compliment to underline that you make it seem more effortless that I'm sure it actually is.
Life is complicated enough as is. Unnecessary amputation is absolutely not something to add to the pile
Oh please don't feel guilty or anything, Jógvan! I meant this video specifically for people who are actually hoping/wanting to have a disability or amputation for no real reason. I wanted to encourage people to think a little bit deeper about it - I really appreciate your encouragement towards me that you think I make it look cool! 😊
@@FootlessJo Personal reply, nice. I know, but it still hit home to some degree
Lol, I've went the polar opposite. After the second time I broke my right leg, thanks to a very good surgeon, I managed to keep it. Been 4 years now and it can hurt quite a bit sometimes, but I'm glad it's there and I have no desire for it to be gone..
What people don't know what people who live with disabilities face is the amount of discrimination we face everyday.
I have a disability, I honestly don't understand why people want to be disabled, walk a mile in my shoes you will soon change your mind
I have a relitively severe case of chronic fatigue syndrome and so many people used to scoff and say "wow i wish i could stay in bed all day"
Well now we are all in quarantine and all they do is whinge about not being able to go out so I'm definitely not going to be as kind about calling out those comments in the future.
Wow, how can anyone see a disability as 'cool' or 'trendy'? That seems so weird!
man. cant wait for people to romanticize ME/CFS because they think we just get to lay around and its great. (the idea of being lazy is fun. actually being like "i wanna do this. ....i cant move." or "hhhu im too tired. to sit up and draw." (or sometimes even anything but dissociate and watch videos sometimes even thats too much.) ) i dont think ableds get people can be proud and connected to their disability and what they live like because of it but that doesnt mean its great (though if i could at least get rid of the ME/CFS id love that. my other ones are enough.)
Haha exactly! Dealing with ME CFS too and I totally get it. Nobody would want this at all 😢
Thank you so much for saying something about BIID at the beginning of the video!
I have wanted to get a double above the knee amputation because I have chronic knee pain for over 7 years. I know that having an amputation is hard but since I already struggle to get up and do normal activities like walking, sitting, or literally anything I do dream of them just going away. I don’t want to be an amputee because I want a disability, I already have that, I just want to be free from the pain.
Living life with a disease that you can't get rid of because of your own mental limitations or the limitations of medical science is NOT fun in any way. It depresses me to see people saying that they want to be disabled because they just do not understand how debilitating it can be to have limitations that could be so easily surpassed if that disability did not exist.
i wish i had a wheelchair.
because i need a wheelchair. i have EDS and chronic pain. while it affects my arms, it takes great joy in going after my legs. having a wheelchair would be so beneficial to my life. can i stand? yes. can i walk? yes. do both of those things often times cause me moderate to severe pain? yes. hell, sometimes even laying down in bed causes my legs to ache. the only mobility aid i have is a pair of crutches. i didnt even get them because of my EDS. i had a surgery to remove glass from my foot about a year ago, so i had to use crutches for a few months. i use them sometimes when one of my legs is in extreme pain, but i hate having to use them. i wish i had a wheelchair.
I’d like to reiterate (because I’ve seen some comments) that you should only feel bad IF YOU HAVE A COMPLETELY NORMAL/WORKING limb!! For those of us that have preexisting conditions/chronic pain that would lead us to believe amputation would be a better option and grant us a better quality of life, there is nothing to feel bad about. Jo herself went down the road of elective amputation because she believed it to be a healthier/less painful option.
(If you suffer from BIID, than this doesn’t apply to you either.)
Just echoing Jo’s statement throughout her video. Love you Jo! 💜
I had my leg amputated below the knee on November 5 2019. and I still need a wheelchair to get around because my other foot was torn off in a farm accident when I was 17. Now this thursday they are testing me for infection in the only foot I have left and if it is I will lose that foot also leaving me with no feet. So go ahead and fantasize and maybe it will happen and you can experiance all the pain and all the things you wont be able to do anymore. Life sucks for me now.
Love the 'HOPE" on the bookcase behind you.