John Paffett tells Newsweek about having his leg amputated when he was just 16 years old.
After seeing the family doctor, who said:"If it was my son, I would let him die rather than go through the operation," they initially said no. But after a heart wrenching and painful persuasion with my consultant, they left the decision to me.
When my leg was not there, a huge sense of relief washed over me. I was only 16 at the time, and life was just beginning, yet now the pathway forward would be so different than anything I could ever have imagined. When Ann was 36, she and John received the devastating news of her breast cancer diagnosis. She died eight years later.At 17 years old, I bought my first car and had a measure of freedom, but like most teenagers I wanted the fun and excitement I had missed out on. After having a few girlfriends, I met Ann, a beautiful 18-year-old who embraced my disability without a second thought.
As devastating as it was physically, there are numerous positives too. I am a better person for this experience, I have more empathy and appreciate such simple things in life, like the birds and colors in a garden or in the sky. A year and three months after losing Ann, I met Brenda. I never thought I could, but I fell madly in love again. Six years later, we wed and have recently celebrated 20 years of marriage. I have been truly blessed with her.I have learned to manage my disability, in limiting my walking where possible, using the shortest routes and finding pain relief options, which worked most of the time but not always.
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