A few days ago I had a scary problem with my prosthetic leg that turned out to be nothing but that caused a major change in how something close to me – hell, it’s attached to me – looked.
Here’s how it looks now…
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…because all the weird wavy carbon fiber “this doesn’t look anything remotely like an ankle” shit is exposed. It used to be covered by this…
…a hightech covering made of pipe insulation and electrical tape. No, I didn’t put it there – the prosthetist did ten years ago when the leg was modified to accept the new and vastly, almost hilariously superior foot. It was put there, basically, to fill out the inside of a sock.
But I had already grown tired of the way my fake foot wore through unnecessary left socks, so I covered the covering with an old gray sock the foot portion of which was actually inside the foot-shaped part of the foot and just left it there for years. In addition to the unnecessary sock attrition, it’s easier to get a boot on and off without the sock.
Then a few days ago I cut the whole thing off to get to the setscrews, intending to tape it back together later. In hindsight I’ve decided to leave it be.
You know, for many years I was at least a little self-conscious about the prosthesis. Oh, there were always exceptions: openly wearing one on a dive boat, for example, is a direct path to being treated as much cooler than you really are. But in general I tried for decades to keep it to myself. Not that I hid the fact that it was there, that wouldn’t have been practical since at a minimum the limp needed to be explained, but I hid the thing itself because…let’s face it, it’s a rather gross disfigurement. I went quite a long time between getting out of the hospital and acquiring my first prosthesis, and believe me people do stare.
But that was a long time ago and now in addition to the fact that there’s nobody around to look at it, I’m not that insecure anymore. So let it be what it is, and screw’em if they can’t take a joke.
Really, as long as Torso Boy doesn’t freak out, well, it just adds to your hermetishly curmudgeonness.
Plus, it will allow you to periodically check all connections and clean dirt and such out of all the joints, if dirt and such is an issue.
Of course, it does depend on how you feel. Can you handle the sci-fi leg? If so, cool.
My first thought was a piece of pool noodle of right height and some drab green or camo duct tape and you are 21’st Century my man!
Lots of information and resources here https://www.amputee-coalition.org/
Could they help you get a more modern, comfortable and high tech leg?
Depending on his age, this might be the most relevant page for Joel : https://www.amputee-coalition.org/resources/medicare-for-people-with-limb-loss/