If you want to pretend an hand amputation, you can try to get an cosmitical glove (about 100 euro for an glove in exelent state on the Internet or maybe an amputee who received a spare glove that he doesn't use).
You can put this on like an normal glove, but it looks like you have a real prosthetic hand. Because it is made of stiff PVC material, you first make it warm with wather, so you can put it easy on, when it comes back to it's normal temperature, it gets more stifness and there you have your 'part-time' prosthesis.
I did it often before I finaly succeed and get my disired amputation (lbe)
I used to pretend with a fake arm, mostly in winter when lots of clothes could hide my real one. It had a standard terminal hook on the end of it. I could both open the hook (using the usual cable and loop behind the opposite shoulder) and raise the arm which had a cord from near the elbow running over a pulley higher up, then down to a loop around the groin. By stretching my body I could lift the arm.
I constructed several legs too. The most successful mechanism was made of some galvanised pipe (the type used for scaffolding) with a T-joiner clamped on top of the upright pylon with a sleeve of metal inside it to prevent the joiner from tightening completely on a horizontal piece of thinner pipe. There was a sleeve in-between the horizontal pipe and the T-joiner made of plastic irrigation pipe to act as a “silencer”.
But, Armamp, like you, I am happy to say I have the real thing these days: RAK. I used dry ice and a tourniquet (see under Male and Wannabe) My Disclaimer is: That’s what I did, but what I have written must not to be understood as encouraging others to do it.
Can you please tell us how you achieved your below elbow?. That has to be one of the most exciting amputations. I have always wondered what it’s like and I know we’d all like to have a description of what you did and how it feels.
As long as I can remember me, I hated my hand. I always thought it doesn't belong there, and I have done a lot to destroy "that thing".
As a little child, when we played soldiers, I was always the "victim" who lost his hand. I taped it with ducktape and made a hook from a coat-hanger. Later I tried lot of other things, like putting my fingers between a door and kick it hard to close, but the only results are four broken fingers. I tried many times to "kill" my hand with a tourniqette, made from a rope, tie-raps, bandages etc, but that hurts to much, so I couldn't go "over the edge". Even when I drunk lots of alcohol, I magaged it to remove the tourniqette before it could damage my hand.
I bought a cosmethic glove and used it once for a whole week, just to see how it is so see to have a prosthetic hand. I 'played' a lot with it.
After reading about a man who lost his feet by frostbite, I decided to try this too. Finaly I managed it it with a frozen coldpack. I put two normal coldpacks in the freezer, and when they are frozen, I took a number of drinks (alcohol). Then I wrapped the frozen coldpacs around my wrist and coverd it all with a bandage. After an hour or so, I removed the packs and my arm just above the wrist was deep frozen. (The first stage doesn't hurt, but when the wrist starts to defrost, it burned like hell, no alcohol or painkillers help at that stage).
This process destroyed the bloodvains in my arm (and I helped it a little by pushing on the frozen skin, so the cells are crushed) so it started to die soon. The next (so the can't do anything at the first-aid anymore) day I went to the hospital, and told them that I used a coldpack because I hurt my wrist with boxing, but felt asleep with it round my wrist. Because the damage the couldn't do anything to 'save' my arm, and the had to amputate it.
Now I have a beautifull prosthesis with a stainless-steel hook and a cosmetic hand. I never regret this, and I really love my stump and prosthesis. I have no pain or phantom-pain, and a very beautifull healed stump with almost no visable scarfs.
But I must warn the people who want to try to do the same. Know that there is no way back, and you are very disabled with only one hand. Even the most stupid things give you problems, cutting your meat, making your bread, doing little things at home, like using a screwdriver and a screw, making love like I was used to do, and much more things, you maybe not thinking of before you lose a hand.
Hereby I invite everybody who is thinking seriously to do the same, to come over for a day (or longer if you want) and see how I have to manage things in daily life, so you know for sure that you want to live like me, because again, there is NO WAY BACK. And you always may ask me how I have to manage the things you doubt about. (but remember, I am not looking for a gay relation!)
Your life really changes more than you can imagine before. People will always see your 'disability' before the see you, (a leg amputation is something you can hide, cover your leg with trousers and you are not different from people who limp a little) but a shiny hook, always get the attention. You can loose your work, friends, and you maybe can't do the things you also like to do (like in my case modelbuilding, haute cuisine cooking, playing ice-hockey).
I don't want to scare you off, but I want you to be shure you can live with an amputation. If you think it is hard and doubt about it, DON'T DO IT!! In that case you better 'play' to be an amputee, and continue with your 'normal' life when you want to do the things you need two hand for. Remember, you are still an amputee when you are 65 or so, and your body is not any longer in a good shape, so you can't do the things you need two hands for. You are disabled for the rest of your life !!!
For those who, after reading my story, prefer to stay a pretender, I can imagine that, and think it is better to be an pretender than have regrets after the amputation. You can buy lot's of equipment on the internet, to look like a real amputee, but you can go back to normal life at the end of the day. (I sell my gloves also on the Internet, because I receive them every 4 months but don't use them, and also sell my used hooks, because I don't need a spare one, I receive a new one when I need this)
For me, I love it to be an amputee every day, and if I have to make the choice again, I will do it immidiatly ! Two days of imhumanity pain, maked me the man I always wanted to be.
You can contact me by e-mail through this system. Please don't use a free e-mail account (like hotmail) to contact me, because I don't respond on anonymous messages.
Like most of us, my desire to be an amputee goes back to a very young age.
Today I was at a meeting of our amputee support group. There was a woman artist visiting to tell us about a project she in undertaking with young amputees, involving making artistic glass models of their missing limbs. It is supposed to be very therapeutic for them; they can inscribe their thoughts on the clay models used to make the glass limbs.
The woman had her baby and little boy with her. He was about four and had brought along with him his pirate equipment: an eye patch and a plastic hook that fitted over his hand. Of course, like most kids, he didn't seem to be phased by us amps at all but your early age pretending, Arm Amp, reminded me of the kid. How you would have loved to own that "equipment" back then and be able to parade it in public.
I used to pretend with a fake arm, mostly in winter when lots of clothes could hide my real one. It had a standard terminal hook on the end of it. I could both open the hook (using the usual cable and loop behind the opposite shoulder) and raise the arm which had a cord from near the elbow running over a pulley higher up, then down to a loop around the groin. By stretching my body I could lift the arm.
I constructed several legs too. The most successful mechanism was made of some galvanised pipe (the type used for scaffolding) with a T-joiner clamped on top of the upright pylon with a sleeve of metal inside it to prevent the joiner from tightening completely on a horizontal piece of thinner pipe. There was a sleeve in-between the horizontal pipe and the T-joiner made of plastic irrigation pipe to act as a silencer.
But, Armamp, like you, I am happy to say I have the real thing these days: RAK. I used dry ice and a tourniquet (see under Male and Wannabe) My Disclaimer is: Thats what I did, but what I have written must not to be understood as encouraging others to do it.
Can you please tell us how you achieved your below elbow?. That has to be one of the most exciting amputations. I have always wondered what its like and I know wed all like to have a description of what you did and how it feels.
