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Limb Loss Member since 06/24/09
My Story
I am a 45 year old female who lost both my lower extreminies in the past three year. Just by a blink of an eye and a drunk driver, my whole life changed. In 2001 I was a single mother coming home from a long day at work. I will never forget that day as long as I live. February 6th, 2001 @ 6:08pm I was hit head on by a drunk driver who wasn't a us citizen and he had no insurance. After many hours of trying to get me out of the mangled car, I was then told both my legs, ankles and feet where shattered and my femur tore the main attery. I woke up in the hostipal with the doctors telling me that I will probably never walk again. At the time I had both my legs but they weren't working nor did they get the proper circulation that they needed. Therefore, after years of reconstruction surgeries of my femur, knees, feet and ankles, nothing worked enough to get me up on them so I can walk. Not being able to use them plus having no circulation I lost both my lower limbs after many years of doing every thing possible to try and save them. After the car accident the circulation never came back into my legs. Therefore I developed ulcers which slower ate away at my skin from my ankles to my knees. I tried many different kinds of wound care including debridments and skin graphs which was very unsuccessful. You name it, I tried it. Infections after infection started to take over my entire being so I decided to finally let them take the first lower leg. I lost my right lower leg two years ago after a three year struggle of wound care. After that leg was taken, my lower left leg took right over with the swelling, blistering, ulcers, which led to another two long years of skin graphs, whirlpools, debredments and mist theropy. Again, infection started to take over my entire left leg which led into the blood stream and I got very very sick. So I had to lose the second lower leg just last year, February of 2009. Now I am having great difficulties trying to get prostetics to fit me and become tolerable for me to wear. I am not wearing any right now and I might be looking at more reconstructive surgeries of my stumps to try and get the prostetics to fit. Right now I am relying soley on my electric wheelchair. I so badly want to get a handicap accessible van so I can be more independent. I live alone and am trying the best I can to just get by in life. I try to stay possitive and have a good attitude. I found forgiveness for the man that changed my life forever. I realized something along the way., "A heart full of love, is so much easier...than a heart full of hatred". So I chose today, to have a heart full of love.
Thank you for reading a little bit of my story.
Susan Lupienski
Needs
I am a lower leg double amputee in need of a handicap accessible van. I am trying to find a company or program that will be able to assist in the cost of a van for me. I am tired of my friends and family going places and doing things and I just sit at home in my electric wheelchair waiting to hear from them on how their day was. I have such a hard time transferring in and out of people's vehicles safely. Every time I slide up and down that slide board I feel like a take a gaint leap of faith that I make it to my portable wheelchair and/or the car seat. I want to be able to go out more freely and independently. In CT the only assistance I found for helping with a van is if I was able to work. I am not sure if I want a van equipped for me to drive or a van for my partner to drive me around more freely and easily. It's so hard having to rely on people and not being able to go to places because my friends have an SUV and I can't get into them. Making arrangements for doctors appointments and physical theropy is a nightmare. Sure we have medical vans that are provided to for me but they pick you up one hour before your appointment and then when your appointment is done and over with, then you call them for your return ride home and then I could wait up to 2-4 hours for a ride home. So an appointment that takes 15 minutes ends up being a half a day event. Being a double amputee with no prosthetics waiting in a place your are unfimiliar with waiting six hours by myself for my medical cab home causes such anxiety for me and then I don't want to go out to another doctors appointment again. Then because of my anxiety I find myself not wanting to go through all that again and again so I cancel alot of my important appointments. Phyical theropy appointments are the hardest for me to keep because I am suppose to go three days a week but due to the transportation issues I find myself so anxious about the amount of time I am going to be away from my home, my safe place so I cancel. Even when it is raining or snowing I can not transfer safely with the slide board therefore I am so limited on days I can actually go out. I have grand children I want to be able to get to and those medical vans don't take you anywhere but dr. appointments. I know this is a tall order but it I knew if I didn't ask I would never find out about what type of programs that might be available for me to fulfill my dream. I am on a fixed income becasue the drunk driver that put me in this state wasn't a us citizen and I wasn't old enough to accumulate a lot of hours/$$$ for a high disability check. I hardly get by on my disability check, which is $674.00 a month and I live alone responsible for all my bills. I can't afford a monthly car payment. I barely can afford my basic needs. Any bit of information you can get me so I can persue my dream would be greatly appriciated.
Contact Information
| Address: |
60 Kings Highway Apt. #2 Gales Ferry, CT 06335 |
| Phone: | 860-464-8819 |
| Email: | slupienski@sbcglobal.net |