| support group |
Living Life
Unlimbited
Support group shows amputees they are not alone
by Kevin C . Hall | photography submitted by Monica Prestridge
An accident with a lawnmower cost Monica Prestridge her leg , but it also directed her toward a calling that has borne fruit many years later . Prestridge was 4 years old in 1976 .
She was playing out in her yard .
“ And being a 4-year-old I wasn ’ t paying attention and fell under the family ’ s riding lawnmower ,” she said .
She was rushed to the hospital , but she lost a lot of blood . Dr . D . W . Adcock saved her life and he saved her right leg , but he couldn ’ t save her left .
Many years later , she said , Adcock related the experience from his point of view . He told her she came in “ white as a sheet ,” she said , and the systolic number of her blood pressure — that ’ s the big number on top — was about 40 , which some blood pressure charts don ’ t register , she said . She was in the hospital about 3 1 / 2 weeks .
Sometime the following summer , Prestridge said , she remembers getting her first prosthetic leg . “ They said I put it on and just took off running and never stopped … And I ’ ve worn one ever since ,” she said .
But the accident made her different from everyone she knew .
“ I always just felt like I was the only one . You didn ’ t see amputees in the Paralympics like you do today .” — Monica Prestridge
“ I always just felt like I was the only one ,” she said . “ You didn ’ t see amputees in the Paralympics like you do today .”
She said she felt ostracized , although in hindsight she wonders how much of that was how her classmates actually treated her and how much was in her own head .
It wasn ’ t until she was in her early 30s that she had the opportunity to be around other amputees . She said the experience was so liberating . She said participating in a conference of the Amputation Coalition of America was “ really life-changing .”
“ I ’ ve always known God wanted to use my amputation for something bigger ,” she said . The kind of support she received from others who ’ d been through some of the same challenges showed her how she could help .
“ If I ever got the chance I wanted to make another amputee not feel the way I felt ,” she said .
Things started to come together for a support group between November 2019 and early 2020 . She encountered several amputees she hadn ’ t met before , and they all had questions .
“ We can bring these amputees together ,” she decided . “ We can answer their questions .”
Prestridge said the catalyst was Roscoe Single-
50 MoultrieScene JANUARY 2022