FAQ
Last updated 02.02.2003
Last updates are at the beginning of the text.
We want more questions.
Click here to send a new question to TAS Foundation
Is it possible to learn to walk with prosthesis if you have amputated both legs?
Yes! See what Dima have accomplished after amputation of both legs. He uses two prosthesis and walk like a God.
See him walk ;
movie 1,
movie 2,
movie 3
You need QuickTime to see these movies. Get it here!
You can visit his pages at: http://www.golfamp.com/
You are such an inspiration
Thank you for the article you wrote on your amputation website. I am a 16
year old girl living in XXX, U.S. My dad had a horrible accident with a 1,000
pound bicycle which fell on him, breaking his shoulder in 3 places and crushed
his right leg, which had to be amputated just below the knee. He was in the
hospital a week then came home and was with us for a week. Sunday morning of
January XX with my oldest brother and I at his side he died. The autopsy showed
a blood clot had killed him, which had travelled from his leg to his heart and
lungs. We had no idea blood clots were a risk after these surgeries because we
had never been warned by the doctors. Is it standard procedure for the doctors
to warn the family of this? It has been bothering my family ever since it
happened almost a year ago. If you could just help me with this one question it
would make all the difference in the world for my family. I would appreciate any
help you could provide on this matter. Thank you so much. Sincerely, XXXX XXXXXX
Dear XXXX XXXXXX!
It's sad to hear what happened to your father. I'm thinking of you and your family.
Even if such things happen life will go on. I have also lost my sister in a
traffic accident when she was only 19 years old so I know what your family is
going through. It took me one year to get on with my life after that accident.
There have been so much bad things happening to us that you may wonder when will
it ever stop. But we strive on and try to make the best of life.
Regarding your question "Is it standard procedure for the doctors to warn the
family of this?" ; This is different from country to country and from doctor to
doctor and hospital to hospital. There is always dangers in operating and doing
surgery. My opinion is that we can never get enough information! But doctors
must keep on saving the next patient so they can not inform all patients for
several hours or days. Remember the same doctors saved you dad. They brought him
back to you after the accident. But it's our rights as patients to say what we
mean about our treatment. So if more patients and relatives say that they want
more information about possible side affects after an operation or things that
might happen then it's my opinion that the doctors and hospitals will be better
in giving such information.
But let us look at it in another perspective. What if the doctors had informed
your family about this possible risk. What would you do then? Would you wake
over him every half hour for the first month? Would he be living now if you had
gotten such information? Would it be possible to save him if you found out soon
enough that he got a blood clot?
Don't keep thinking off these questions!! They will never be answered. If your
family keeps thinking of this you will be "eaten up" of the concern the
questions rise in your hearts. You must all honour your father/husband by living
life the best you can and always keep him in your heart. He will always be
watching you and look after you. You are still the family he loved so dearly.
I know. We have been there our self! More information about us will come on TAS
Foundation pages. I was told I never could have kids!! But now I have three
wonderful kids. So you see that there have been more difficult things in our
life than what's been published yet on our foundation pages. More information
will be published about this in the right time.
That was a long answer to your question.
I hope you are having as good Christmas holidays that you can under the
circumstances and we wish you and your family a happy new year!
I have a friend who is an amputee and I have wondered what his stump was
like. Seeing yours has made me more comfortable with him. How much of your limb
do you still feel?
It's nice to hear that you now are more comfortable with your amputee friend. I
only feel my stump and nothing else. But it feels like my toes are tingling
sometimes.
I have been told that amputees can still feel their leg after it is cut off.
Is this correct?
I have heard the same. But it must be the tingling in their toes they feel, I
think. So my answer must be the same as in the answer above.
Can you use the muscles in your stump to hold the prosthesis on?
Yes. I use my muscles to control the prosthesis.
How old are you?
I'm 35 years old. (January 2002)
Where do you live?
I'm proud to say I'm a Norwegian. My hometown lies on the west coast of Norway
and is called Haugesund. Norway is a rather long and narrow country in
Scandinavia. (Norway is situated east of England). We are only about 4 million
people living in Norway.
What do you do for a living?
I'm in charge of the accountings in the firm I work.
When did you lose your leg?
The amputation was made on 20 June 1988.
How old were you when you lost your leg?
I was 22 years old the year I amputated my leg.
Was it cancer or an accident?
What I got is called bone cancer, here in Norway.
Why do you ask on your pages if we find your pages offensive?
Some people find it offensive to watch, what they call "sick people". I don't
think I'm sick and I have lots of friends who don't look at me any different
than they did when we were friends before my amputation. But some people in the
world mean that I should not put such pictures on the net.
I think it's very important for other amputees to see that it's ok to be an
amputee.
Have anyone said they found your pages offensive?
I have not received any mail saying the pages are offensive. We asked our
readers to comment this to see if this was the case and also to get general
comments on the pages. Most people like the pictures. I think these pages gives
people a golden opportunity to see what life an amputee can live.
Are you cured now?
Yes! My cancer is cured. It's now ten years since my last operation, in my left
lung. They did not want to take the big operation to take out the cancer in my
right lung. But it's killed by cell poison they gave me. So I've been well now
for over 11 years.
Do you wear your prosthesis much?
No. I use it at work but take it off at home. It's right what you imply. It does
hurt. And it's also very hot in the socket.
What kind of music do you like?
I like pop music, e.g. Billie Myers : Kiss The Rain. The Internet remix with the
film "Chasing Amy" is the best). Right now there is a new
album from Morten Abel (a Norwegian artist) that is my favourite.
Can I ask you one question; it seems to me unusual (but great) that a guy
like you is more than happy to post pictures on the net, especially ones which
are what can only be described as close-up studies of your stump. Why did you
decide to do this?
It's very important to me that others in the same situation can see that they
are not alone.
There are people all over the world living with an amputation of a limb. I have
managed quite well and want to send a strong signal to others that you can gain
a high quality life even if you have lost one limb.
I'm not ashamed to show myself. We are all humans and should help each others in
every possible way to get a quality life. My pages are also intended to inspire
other amputees to do the same.
We are as good as any other person and can still do a lot of functions in
society. After experiencing a meeting with the devil we change and know how
important it is to help others. I also mean that we gain a better life than
people who have not experienced a life crisis.
To all you parents and family to people who are getting an amputation or have
gotten one : My pages are meant to be proof of that everyone can manage to live
without a limb. Just be there for your friend, man, woman, son, girl or lover if
it happens to them. We need people around us to help us through the battle. Show
them you care and still love them.
Have you experienced that people have written to you and said that they also
were amputees, and they were not?
There are always persons on the net saying they are another person than they
really are. But don't give up all your Internet friends because of a bad
experience. Those people will always be here and you will sooner or later figure
out that they are false. Luckily there are lots of nice people on Internet. Many
of those who write me an e-mail send pictures of themselves. Some use their real
names and real pictures. Others are fakes. Both names and pictures can be fakes.
Keep that in mind.
A friend of mine married a woman who is above the knee amputee. She chooses
to not wear prosthesis. I asked her why and she told me that she was not
preoccupied with her amputation. The prosthesis takes too much time and is
painful. Her stump is healthier without the pressure of a socket.
Would you agree with this?
It takes time to put the prosthesis on. That is correct. I use about 10-15
minutes to put it on. The best thing about wearing prosthesis is that you then
have your arms free. I use a stick when I wear my prosthesis because I'm
uncertain walking around without one. I got too many holes in my trousers, when
falling on my knee. That's why I wear a stick. I also get blisters on my stump
when I wear it a lot.
I would probably say that I now wear the prosthesis only one out of seven days a week.
I enjoy your web page a lot and wonder if you had ever thought how it would
feel to be an amputee before you actually became one?
No, I never thought that I would become one. You know everybody thinks it will
never happen to them. But you can never be sure that you will be spared from
cancer.
Every third person gets cancer these days.
Can you tell me how it felt after your leg was taken off and how difficult
was it to get used to the prosthesis?
I've been told that the first thing I said when getting out of the recovery was
"Take me out on the terrace". I wanted fresh air and to see the sky.
When I was still in the recovery and just woke up after the amputation, the
first thing I did was to feel for my pen... They could have made a mistake you
know and cut it off. ;-)
The nurses made me get very quickly out of bed. I think they made me stand up
beside my bed already the day after the operation.
When it comes to last part of your question I must say that it took some time to
get used to the prosthesis and the thought of using one. It takes quite some
training to be good. You really just have to work hard the moment you get one.
And stay using it every moment you can.
I had a visit from a girl who had amputated the leg just like me. She climbed
mountains and walked like a Queen. She was quite an inspiration. It's really a
shame that I haven't managed to be as good as her. I urge all others who read
this to keep training every day with your new prosthesis. You will never be
sorry.
How is it like being an amputee in Norway?
It's good to be an amputee in Norway. I got a car from the government and I also
got three years of education with salary/pay.
I can't really complain, can I?
Are you active in amputee sports?
Not now, but I have been. But I haven't been given it a priority the last two
years. I swim regularly, every Friday evening. There have been times when I did
up to 5.000 meters a week. But now I've gotten a son and I do want to spend as
much time as I can with him. He comes first.
I have been skiing slalom, cross-country skiing sitting on a sled (I attended
both 2,5 km with shooting and 20 km) and pulk downhill. All these activities
have been in competitions. I competed in all events they had and got from first
place to last place. The most important thing is to participate. And it gave me
great fun competing with other handicapped people.
What kind of activities do you pursue?
Right now it's building WebPages, swimming and shooting with handguns. I own a
Springfield model 1911 45 cal. pistol and a Browning Buckmark 22 cal.
I'm alsoveryactive in localpolitics and have been elected into the City council for four years.
Please tell me about the purpose of your foundation
I help cancer patients and amputees to gain a better life. I use a lot of time
and money to spread information. Nowadays my main target is Internet and I want
to put up more pages and develop them further.
There are lots of people out there who need to see that they are not alone with
their amputation.
I also want amputees to meet and that cost money. I also help amputees and
cancer patients with money. Some cancer patients can get a vacation by another
foundation in Norway and only pay 90 £ for the trip. This is a vacation where
they travel about 60 persons in a group. And over half have had cancer. The
other half is relatives/friends or wife/husband. If they want a
friend/lover/girlfriend/ boyfriend/brother/sister with them they have to pay 440
£ for him/her. Often they can't afford this and then they can't go. It's much
easier to travel with someone you know and get their help with luggage and so
on. I've been to one of these travels myself with my wife. And I find it to be
like medicine. You travel with other handicapped people and others who have lost
their limb and everyone in the group know what you are talking about, because
they have experienced it themselves.
Lots of people I know have died of cancer. I've been extremely lucky to survive.
Therefore I want to help others in the same situation when they need help.
Either to travel and get away from it all or just help them with a bill they
can't afford when they are in hospital and all they should think about is to
fight the cancer.
It's important for me to help others. And to do this I need money. Some of the
people I've already gotten donations from are also giving me tips on what to do.
Some have suggested that I write books and send out brochures. But now I'm
concentrating on making the WebPages good and collecting money.
After a while I will put up an application form on the WebPages where they can
apply for help. The application form will be open to all amputees and cancer
patients.
I hope you can afford to send a donation.
Do you know about girls having attraction for amputees like you?
I only know about a few. There are some women who have mailed me. And I still
have contact with women who found my pages at Secret Garden.
Did you meet your wife after or before the amputation?
We met before the amputation. We had been living together for about three years
when I got cancer and had to amputate.
Is your wife attracted physically by your different body, beside her love for
you? Or she just doesn't mind about it?
I asked her today when I got your mail. She loves me. She loved me before the
amputation and the amputation have had nothing to say for her concerning her
love for me. She told me she will always love me. No matter if I have one, two
or no legs at all. It's the man inside and my heart she loves. She thought it
was a stupid question. Why should she not love me without one leg? She was not
in love with my leg. It's the person Tor-André she loves and that person will be
there until I die. That was her answer to your question.
Do you wear prosthesis?
Yes, when I feel like it.
How is the behaviour of people there in Norway regarding amputees without limbs?
Some stare and kids ask. Kids tend to say ; "Poor man, have you broken your
leg?" But most people just look at me when I don't look their way. Some are also
very polite and hold doors for me when I use my crutches.
Best regards
Tor-André Skogland
Founder