Wisdom?

It's a funny thing, when I started this blog, I expected to learn so much about how to be a good wife to an amputee that I would have all kinds of wisdom to share with my readers.  It turns out, I don't feel much wiser at all.  And I'm not sure that I'm a good wife most of the time.  Still, I do have some things to share with you that apply mostly to leg amputees.

1)  Try to keep the dogs out of the way when your spouse is on crutches.  Dogs have a tendency to freak out over crutches, even after living with them for years, and some dogs will act like squirrels in front of a car, running back and forth.  This increases the likelihood of your spouse tripping over them and hurting something else.

2)  It's nice to open doors for people on crutches, but once you've done the opening, the crutches make great door stops.

3)  Carrying hot coffee is nearly impossible on crutches, so you probably don't want to ask your spouse to pick you up a cup of Starbucks unless they are wearing their leg.

4)  Walking with the leg on is hard work.  It requires a lot more effort than walking on a real leg, even if that leg is mangled.

5)  At the grocery store, let your spouse push the cart if they are wearing their leg.  It acts as a walker, helping with balance and preventing them from falling.

6)  The leg will ALWAYS be doing something weird, like falling off when they stand from sitting, twisting around a bit when they are walking, slipping into an uncomfortable position, etc.

7)  Your spouse has no feeling in the prosthesis.  This means that they can step on your toes and stand on them without ever realizing it.  Try to tell them nicely to get off your toes rather than instinctively pushing them off.

So there you have it, the sum total of my wisdom of being married to an amputee.  If you have anything to add, please let me know.  I really need to get a little wiser!