As I was listening to Lauren talk I heard her say that after she lost her arm, it was amazing how her body reacted and recovered. I think that's the same sentiment that many castrated and penectomized men have. Have a listen: http://tv.yahoo.com/daytime/dint-lauren ... 04876.html

While there is definitely a lot of truth in these stories, about how the body adapts and after a while it just becomes a part of you, and you get used to it, I'm kind of getting sick of these stories of "overcoming tragic circumstances," and how "oh, you're so great," and "you're such an inspiration," and "oh, I can't believe you overcame such a terrible thing!" For God's sake, what are they expecting you to do? Curl up into a ball and loathe and drown yourself in a pool of misery for the rest of your life? Sheesh. They make these people seem like freaking Jesus for continuing to live their lives.

Maybe it's just because I've watched way too many videos on amputees, but to me it seems like it's always the same damned story over and over and over again, about how someone didn't lose hope, and is still doing all of the things that they loved beforehand. (*gasp!* amazing! Despite losing a limb, they still continued to be completely 100% human!) If you ask me, it's really old. Is the American mainstream really this unable to put themselves in others' shoes and imagine what they themselves would do if they were in someone else's shoes? This is what leads to another thing about amputees that is rarely reported on the news... that they're sick of people defining them by their amputation. That they are just living their life, and that they have an identity and a life that to them feels completely normal, and is not defined by what they do (or don't) have. And these kinds of news stories are only reinforcing that.

Anyway, rant over. I'm probably just angry because I'm so sick of this "deviation from the default" attitude that people have, where once someone is something other than what they see as "normal," their whole life becomes defined by that single attribute. It happens with just about everything, from eunuchism to transgenderism to amputation to very basal things such as gender and race. It's aggrivating.

Lauren had a premonition of a life changing event. She claims.

Besides the loss of a hand plus eye and extensive injuries to skull and face around that eye,

she also suffered injury to the long thoracic nerve on the opposite arm causing that arm to rotate inward when she walks.

Here is a link to YouTube of model Chauntal Lewis who lost her left hand in a car accident and

"took it on" with a much different attitude.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MMlVhORNDk

No "one size" and some never 'recover from the loss'. Some that do have "flashbacks", reliving previous bummer emotions.

Sure Chauntal is not as extensively injured but she is not shy about her handless arm.

Moi