A True Champion, Alyssa Liddle battled and beat her greatest foe and continues to inspire those around her.
Being Active
The life of an amputee comes with a lot of attachments and accessories. There are different types of equipment needed for different types of activities. I am lucky enough to have a leg that lets me do a wide variety. Some would say that I have the four-wheel-drive version of a prosthetic. My leg is one of the few types that is fully submersible in water, and can also adapt to different walking styles and terrains. Since I have such a smart leg- it takes some maintenance. I have to plug it in and charge it every few days. I also have to send it in for work every year, something like an oil change for a car.
Some of the other “accessories” could include separate running blades, biking legs, or even swimming attachments. These things all come with a large cost. Many people aren’t able to afford different legs as insurance won’t typically cover anything that isn’t medically necessary. It can be pretty daunting to think of all of the different attachments and accessories that may be needed to do something that was once just as easy as riding a bike.
I am very fortunate to have the leg that I do have. I currently have the Ottobock X3. I have loved getting back to all of my favorite things on it and also learning how to do new things on it. I started to kickbox with it. Though I cherish it too much to bang it against a hanging bag, I am able to balance on it while kicking with my left leg. One of my favorite stories about learning my way about the technology that I wear everyday was learning the importance of checking how much battery I have left in it each night. When I met my brother for lunch, I heard beeping happening below the table. Turns out, it was my leg warning me that it was running too low on battery. I had to pop it off and put it in the passenger’s seat on my way home!
About a year after adapting to different physical activities, I was selected to win a grant for a running blade from the Challenged Athletes Foundation. I am hoping to do my first 5k on it in a few months! This running blade allows me to move at a faster speed and with less weight weighing me down on my residual limb compared to my everyday leg. It has been a learning curve, but through working with the CU Sports Medicine and Performance Center, I plan on learning the proper form and methods of using the new running blade.
Follow Alyssa on Facebook: @Whenlifegivesyoucancer and Instagram: _whenlifegivesyoucancer
