(This article is written for all those children who are being tugged and yanked and whose shoulders are being pulled from their sockets)
I am in a store – any store – a child sees my leg and is interested. After all, I am inviting curiosity by wearing shorts. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch to see what happens while I shop. The child points, the mother says, “Don’t do that! It’s rude!” But she doesn’t explain. She doesn’t explain my leg to the child or why it isn’t polite to point. The child is still asking her about my leg, and she is getting angrier. He still doesn’t understand why she is so angry. He is just curious. She yanks at his arm to pull him away. To save his arm from further damage, I walk toward the little boy, and I explain:
“When I was born, I didn’t get two legs like you, mine were different, and the doctors had to fix one so that I could have a leg like this.” pointing to my prosthesis. “The great part about it
is that this leg is special. It has a computer inside.” I take the battery out and show them that the battery is just like one that operates their toys, cameras, computers at home, etc. They love it. They think that is the coolest part. At that point, they usually want one just like it. I explain to them first that it doesn’t hurt and that I can do things just like them but that I may have to do them a little differently. I tell them that I snow ski, but I have to do it on one leg with these tiny skis on crutches. I tell them that I scuba dive, but I do it without my leg on. I tell them that without this computer, I might not be able to ride a bicycle as well, so this makes my life a lot better. That is about as long as a six-year-old attention span lasts, but they have had an explanation, and they know that people can be different, but different can also be a good thing.