PRACTICALLY ACTIVE

A.B.L.E. assistance open to amputees

It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference.

-- Tom Brokaw

Those of you who read this column regularly are aware that I had a toe amputated in 2015 due to an infection in my right foot. I admit I mourned the loss for a while.

A few weeks ago my mother spoke of a man she'd met who told her about A.B.L.E. It stands for Amputees Beyond Life's Expectations.

Their website, ableamputees.com, offers this description: "A.B.L.E. is a nonprofit organization formed by a group of prosthetists, physicians, physical therapists and amputees who make it their mission to provide new amputees with the power, skill, means and opportunity to do anything they set their mind to. Together we inspire those faced with limb loss to live beyond life's expectations and surpass all perceived limits to reach their fullest potential."

Their motto is that "life is about using that which could limit you to make your life limitless."

A.B.L.E.'s goal is to create awareness, provide resources and help amputees have a voice.

Many of us know that insurance often covers only the most basic of needs, meaning amputees might get only a very rudimentary prosthetic arm or leg. The organization collects donated parts and will host fundraisers to cover the costs of prosthetic devices.

Another of its missions is to educate and empower. In any situation, it can be hard to know what questions to ask and where to find educational material or training tools. There are monthly peer support group meetings, too, where you can learn from people who have gone before you.

Visit the website for meeting times. For information, call Allan D. McElhaney at (501) 551-6102.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 10, A.B.L.E. will hold its third annual Fishing Day at Lake Valencia in Maumelle. Activities include a contest for the biggest fish, games and face painting. They'll also have drinks, and grilled burgers and hot dogs. No fishing license is needed, and it's free.

If it rains that day, the event will be rescheduled for June 17, same time and place.

In checking out their website, I noticed that Dr. G. Troy Ardoin, the orthopedic surgeon who amputated my toe, is a board member. He knows his stuff.

OVERHEARD

The other day at a workout place, I got a little perturbed by something I overheard.

There was a man behind me on the rowing machine, just rowing up a storm. I also noticed a teenage boy who was weight-machine hopping. It was obvious that he was unsure of himself.

At one point he walked to the man behind me and said something, and the man loudly commented, "Well, you're sitting down more than anything."

The look on that boy's face was sad, and I had to fight the urge to scold the man.

Having struggled with weight all my life, I can attest that negative comments can stop people dead in their tracks.

Some people contend that you can use the negative to reach positive results, but there are, I believe, situations where that isn't true.

University of Louisville basketball Coach Rick Pitino says that cynical and negative people are killers of potential. I agree.

Instead of encouraging that boy, that man's statement seemed to take the wind right out of his sails. He wandered from machine to machine afterward and I imagined he was trying to do enough to please the man. I have to wonder if he ever could.

Negative comments are not encouraging.

If you can't encourage or inspire someone with what you want to say, please zip your lip. You could unknowingly cause harm that lasts for years.

Email me at:

rboggs@arkansasonline.com

ActiveStyle on 05/22/2017

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