LIMB REAPER
This man is helping save lives by having difficult conversations with would-be amputees. Just don’t call him the ...
PEG LEG, amputee
Gordon names.
Just don’t limb reaper.
The president of the Gold Coast Amputee Support Group (GCASG) is a salesman like no other, but instead of swapping goods for cash he convinces people to trade in their limbs for a better quality of life.
“I speak to people that are in the change of their life, from what they were to where they are becoming and how they keep going after losing a limb,” he said.
Working with a number of Gold Coast social workers Mr Gordon, the proud owner of a prosthetic leg, shares his experience as an amputee with those go angel, goes by getter, Roger many
call him the about to make the often lifesaving decision to undergo the surgery.
“I have seen people who are in desperate need of the surgery, who are in such a bad state their organs are shutting down,” he said.
The Coombabah 65year-old said he took years to adjust to the loss of his leg above the knee, suffered in a railway accident when he was in his early 20s, and has now made it his mission to help others.
“We had one young man who held on to his leg for 22 months, his kidney and liver were shutting down, he had blood poisoning and he wasn’t able to be given intravenous antibiotics,” he said. “He was dying.”
But after months of conversations with Mr Gordon and others in the GCASG the man turned the corner.
“Since having his leg off he is getting back to normal. At the end of the day it is not up to the doctors, it is up to you. You can choose to hide or you can choose to take it on.”
Mr Gordon’s life-saving mission began when he started working Vietnam veterans living in Adelaide.
“I volunteered to help some new patients. You had to be able to talk to them like a normal person and know your life isn’t over. The question is always, if with while you stay in bed suffering with all your limbs what are you going to be able to do?
“If you want to get out there and do the things you love this operation is what needs to happen.
“My parents didn’t accept that I was an amputee. They thought I should have been inside.
“Instead, I proved them wrong, got back to work and even renovated a third of my house in a wheelchair.”
Mr Gordon and others in the amputee support group get together monthly and speak with at least a dozen prospective amputees a year. “The toughest transitions are for the older ones. They are old school and it is a big culture shock to them to lose a leg in their 60s.
“A younger person tends to adapt to things quicker,” he said.
For Mr Gordon a touch of humour always helps.
“I was called peg leg for years by my workmates. It is just about accepting it and living your life,” he laughed. “Sometimes when I use the wheelchair I have children point out that I am missing a leg. I tell them it’s not missing, I just left it at home. That leaves the child scratching their head.”
For National Amputee Awareness Week Mr Gordon is asking people just to be considerate of those with prosthetic limbs.
“It is simple things like seeing someone with a limp and moving out of their way instead of waiting for them to walk around you. You never know what they are going through.” BULLETIN VIEW P16
“THE QUESTION IS ALWAYS, IF YOU STAY IN BED SUFFERING WITH ALL YOUR LIMBS WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO?