Re: Apology to all who have been insulted, belittled or etc etc

Re: Apology to all who have been insulted, belittled or etc etc

Ian Gregson

5/10/1999

OandP'ers

Often the response to a statement such as made by Kim Barreda sheds light
on prevailing attitudes.

In fact, the response Kim got from many on this list, differs little the
response I received when I suggested more prosthetists on this list should
be on amputee oriented lists more.

The example cited below is a prime example:


>On Mon, 10 May 1999, OAPL Medical Tech wrote:
>
>No apology was necessary, as here in my country amputees are patients.
>You are correct in referring to them as such. Kimberly Barruda (sp?) of
>cripworld continues to believe that the forum of oandp-l is restricted to
>the USA.
>
>Ignore her, and continue your posts. If the word patient is correct in
>your country then please persist in using it.
>
>Scott - Prosthetist, New Zealand.


Now I know for a fact that some New Zealand amputee's don't give a rats ass
about being called patient and I know some who do mind.

Scott presumes to know all amputees in NZ and he belittles Kim for
suggesting something different from which he obviously believes in.

This is exactly the attitude Kim is referring to - that prosthetists who
work with amputees think they know just about everything about ALL amputees
- WRONG!

All Kim is suggesting is that prosthetist be more open minded as to using
terminology that puts the amputee on a more equal footing with the
professional - is this so abhorent that so many of you have to dismiss Kim
as a fanatic?

All things being equal an amputee knows more about being an amputee, a
prosthetist knows more about making prosthetic limbs. Knowing more about
being an amputee includes the experiences of dealing with various types of
prosthetist - knowing more about making prosthetic limbs includes knowing
what kind of devious business practices some people use then ignoring it.

Kim has had a lifetime of dealing with dubious prosthetic practices
including many limbs that end up in the closet. I too have had my fair
share of expereince with closet limbs. Kim and I are not alone. How would
you feel if bought a grinder that never worked or some other $10,000 piece
of junk?

To Scott - Prosthetist, New Zealand : I sincerely hope you don't use that
kind of attitude with your clients. You probably do use it without even
realising it. Do you encourage your clients to give feedback, then ignore
it and do what you wanted anyway? I've come across this kind of arrogance,
in person and on the net. Scott YOU are the reason people like Kim, myself
and hundreds of others have the attitdues we have, we have come across
people like you all too often.

For others on the list that are getting a little hot under the collar just
about now, consider this...

Are you mad at me (or Kim) because you feel your professional integrity has
been insulted?

If you feel that way then you might want to consider your own clients. Do
your clients have an opportunity to voice their concerns to you? If you
consider the amputees that come to your facilty an equal partner in the
equation then you have nothing to fear, if you DO NOT consider amputees to
be an equal part of the equation then you suffer from exactly the arrogance
Kim and I allude to.

And whilst individuals may consider themselves equals, consider your
professional organisation that you are affiliated with. Do they allow
amputees at their annual convention to see the latest products and
services? I doubt it, here is a prime example of a prevailing
institutionalised attitude that does not see the amputee as an equal,
regardless of what professional excuse is offered.

There are prosthetists and other medical professionals on amputee oriented
lists, they listen and sometimes offer some direction. They have benefitted
greatly from being on these lists, sadly I count no more that 5 or 6 on my
list. Doesn't this tell you something? These prosthetists are not fishing
for new business, but they are tuning in to something a lot of people on
this list seem to be scared of. Regardless of how many clients you have,
you have not tapped in to this community until you have sat on one of the
amputee mailing lists and listened to the issues.

You have the opportunity to have some understanding of where people like
Kim and myself come from, yet too many of you will dismiss us both as
fanatics or tell yourselves you don't have the time to be on more than one
list.

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Ian Gregson ( <Email Address Redacted> )
Amputee WEB Site <> AMPUTATION Online Magazine
<URL Redacted>
Moderator Amputee & D-Sport Listservs
icq # 27356900
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