[AMP-L] Mobility post AKA with advancing age

[herb rice]

Hi Larry - I think that amputation forces a person who remains active to
stay in good shape due to the increased exertion required for doing most
things. As an amputee I walk on crutches every day which is great form of
exercise. I am 62 and am in better shape than most of my able bodied
contemporaries. In my work I go to hundreds of people's homes every year and
have met lots of elderly leg amputees over the years. I have met a few in
their eighties who have walked on a prosthetic leg since childhood. I met
one man in his eighties who walked well with a wooden leg and a leather
socket using wool liners. In general, the ones who use a prosthesis are
active and get along well. Many of the  ones who do not use a prosthesis are
overweight and prisoners in their homes.  I chat with many of these people
about amputation and most of them tell me that they never were able to learn
to walk on a prosthesis or it hurt too much to walk on a prosthesis. I think
that they were just not lucky enough to have met a good prosthetist. I think
that as long as you keep in good shape you will get around fine on a
prosthesis. Herb