“At first, I felt uncomfortable with my body, especially when people stared, but after a while I came to accept it.” “Life does not stop, it moves on.” “Now, I feel ok when see my reflection in a window.”
I am listening to a group of men from Costa Rica talk about how they felt about their bodies after having leg amputations. The men are between the ages of 32 and 47, and are a part of the project “Walk with a Tico.”
Walk with a Tico is a private, nonprofit project created by Vigo of Belgium, the Van Vooren family, and the Ruysschaert family to assist in providing prosthetic legs to Costa Ricans. The men are on their way back from Belgium where they each received a new prosthetic leg and had a chance to do a number of cultural activities including: a boat tour in Gent, seeing a soccer game, carriage rides through Brugge, and dinners in Sint-Maerten-Latem. Twice I have had the opportunity to travel with groups to Belgium. It was the talks between the participants and their trip activities that helped them appreciate their bodies. I found this appreciation to be an important part of the trip.
Moving On! Amputees Redefine Their Perfect Bodies
Lessons From
Walk With a Tico
by Courtney Borquet