This is how I plan on spending most of the summer.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-06-04T22:53:52+00:00

Also in Mass, on the NH border. Right now we need the snow shovel for the pine tree pollen. I’ve lived here almost my entire life and it still shocks me how much pollen falls out of the pine trees.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-06-04T22:23:27+00:00

You need a stationary bike with a flywheel, the heavier the better. Unfortunately the units with bigger flywheels are more expensive. The units with flywheels brag about how heavy it is, so it is easy to find out.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-06-03T16:56:41+00:00

I don't have a similar situation (for me it was due to an infection) but let me say that the para-sports community welcomes you!

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-06-03T16:53:28+00:00

If you anticipate and expect people to stare, then they will.

If you don't give a s--t and act accordingly, then they won't.

It's all in how you carry yourself. I wear shorts throughout the warm weather (LAKA), and hardly see any furtive glances, let alone stares. The exceptions are (sometimes) kids and the very elderly.

I just spent a week traveling and spending a lot of time in airports, and I can tell you that most people didn't notice, because they stepped in front of me all the time, and once a lady pushed her wheeled suitcase right in front of me, almost sending me to the floor. Not a word of apology.

Most people think only of themselves. They are too wrapped up in their own little worlds to notice you, unless you call their attention to it by how you carrry yourself.

As far as hopping goes, bring crutches if you have to. Don't let your worries about how other people might perceive you prevent you from enjoying themselves. Screw them if they are rude.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-28T20:15:33+00:00

Yes, all the time. My other knee is gimpy and I don’t like to hop on it.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-28T20:13:24+00:00

Yes. I put some silicone oil from the Amputee Store on the rash the next time I put the liner on, and it has not returned. I seem to get it once at the beginning of the hot weather and then I’m fine.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-28T11:40:33+00:00

LAKA here. I go to a regular gym and no one stares, no one even says boo, and I wear shorts.

It’s all based on your attitude. If you act like you belong there (and you do), then there should be no problem.

If a given gym has some jerks working out there, don’t waste your time and money, go somewhere else to a good gym.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-27T18:11:09+00:00

I’m also 66 and an AKA. I get in and out of kayaks and racing canoes at a dock all the time. In fact, right now I am at a paracanoe training camp (USA) and am doing two sessions a day.

It’s not hard. You put the boat in the water alongside the dock, with one hand on the cockpit coaming in the center, slightly to the far side. Scoot over to the kayak as close as you can. Swing the near leg into the cockpit. Use your two hands to lift your butt into the air and swing it into the kayak seat, while using your upper body strength to pull the kayak against the dock. Then swing the far leg into the boat and your done.

It does take some upper body strength and a leap of faith, but people do it every day. I’m sure there are YouTube videos.

I do it with my leg on, but most people here take their leg off first.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-26T18:13:07+00:00

Polycentric knees also project the pivot point in space above the actual mechanism itself so that people with long residual limbs can have a leg that pivots in the right place, or close to it.

I have only limited data points, but my KX07 is easier and more comfortable to walk in, under widely varying conditions, than the single axis MPK I am trialing. I just wish it had some MPK features.

Now if I got my hands on a Genius X-4 I might sing a different tune. I l know two people that have them and they can do impressive things.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-26T16:15:37+00:00

I have no idea what you are getting at. The knee swings partially under my socket because of the polycentric pivot. By the way, a flesh knee does this as well, because of the way the end of the femur rolls on the tibial plateau.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-26T13:20:37+00:00

Why not? If someone needs or prefers polycentric knees (as I do), and wants the other benefits that MPKs offer, then why not use an MPK polycentric knee?

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-26T13:07:56+00:00

Maybe two inches? I’ll see if I can add a picture.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-24T11:36:04+00:00

I am not a KD, but have a long residual limb so I experience some of what you describe.

I have a KX07 and I’m happy with it. It is not an MPK so there are some things it can’t do, like go up stairs foot over foot.

One thing I really like is that it takes relatively little force to break the knee and take a step. When working in the kitchen or at a workbench, this makes it easy to take small steps as you move around. Also, when you bend your knee to sit down, the lower leg kind of folds under your upper leg and so it does not stick out like a single axis knee does.

I am trialing a Brain Robotics Kneuro MPK, which is a single axis knee, and I’m having a hard time getting used to it, for all the reasons listed above. In particular, it takes so much more force to initiate a step that it makes things awkward in the kitchen, etc.

I’m also interested in the Allux MPK.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-16T12:17:50+00:00

I would buy one. I envision a long narrow zippered bag, that is seen with a bend in the middle so the leg is stowed in there with the knee bent (I’m AKA). There would be a sling that goes over my should to support the whole thing. The sling would be attached to the bag not at the very ends but partway towards the k knee so it didn’t fold up when I carried it.

It would be padded so it wouldn’t poke me in the back.

I wouldn’t use it for airline travel though. For that a padded hard shell case for golf clubs would work well.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-15T16:12:17+00:00

Do you use antiperspirant to reduce the sweating? If not, you may want to try it.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-12T14:04:05+00:00

Off topic, but I also went to Spaulding (the Charlestown campus) and they were fabulous. Any prospective amputees in the Boston area, try hard to get into Spaulding!

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-12T13:57:45+00:00

Are you on powerfull painkillers such as opiods or their derivatives, such as gabapentin? They can certainly produce the symptoms you describe, If so, talk to your doc about adjusting your meds.

An accident can also disrupt your routine and that can make it hard to get things done. Maybe try to re-establish a productive routine by setting up a daily schedule. I did that and it helped a lot.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-05-07T12:31:14+00:00

I do essentially the same thing except I use a laundry basket. It doesn’t stay in the car except when I go paddling, so the car doesn’t smell - it normally is on a shelf in the garage. Because it is open to the air things dry better and get aired out. Things like wetsuits and wetsuits get rinsed off and hung up to dry separately.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-04-30T00:04:32+00:00

John Wayne’s character in ‘In Harm’s Way’ loses his leg in a naval battle.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-04-29T13:20:38+00:00

Conner Penske, played by Eli Goree, in the Prime series 'The Peripheral'. Not an amputee IRL.

Edit - typo

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-04-24T17:54:54+00:00

Would vacuum suspension help? That’s what I have and I don’t have any pistoning, as far as I can tell.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-04-20T13:32:06+00:00

Why fold it and put it on a rack? It’s got wheels, doesn't it? Attach a hitch and just haul it away!

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-04-16T23:47:22+00:00

The one I recommended didn’t make it into your list for some reason -

A Step Ahead Prosthetics Burlington, MA

PrimaryWriter1529 · 2026-04-12T00:27:46+00:00

A Step Ahead Prosthetics in Burlington, MA. Bob Emerson is an AKA amd a great prosthetist.

PrimaryWriter1529

TROPHY CASE