The following post is being forwarded from the Amputee Listserve and Amputee Resource Center.The initial post was sent back “unprocessed ” from OANDP-L. We apologize for any inconvenience in the event you have recieved multiple messages of the post. The book reviews can also be viewed at the Amputee Resource Center’s web site www.usinter.net/wasa/arc.html
Have a nice weekend!
Anthony T. Barr
Book Reviews by Dick Mooney of the Amputee Resouce Center :
“Whole Again – An Amputee’s Awesome Ten Year Battle Against Continuous
Pain” by Lee Whipple. and “Repercussion”, by India J. Podsen, Ph.D. with
George Velazquez
I don’t usually review books in pairs, but since I read both of these in
the same week and the contrasts and similarities were so interesting, I
decided I might be forgiven for reviewing them as a “set.” Both are true
stories, although Repercussion is fictionalized. They are both well
written and the stories are gripping. I enjoyed reading both books and I
recommend them.
The major differences are in the two books’ portrayal of physicians and
prosthetists. In Whole Again, physicians know little about prosthetics
and most of the prosthetists who try to help the main character are
unqualified. On the other hand, in Repercussion, highly qualified
physicians and prosthetists work together to satisfy the main
character’s every need. Maybe Repercussion is the way it should be, and
was for George Velazquez; and Whole Again is the way it too often is –
and was for Bill and Tony Barr. In fairness, Whole Again takes place
between 1970 and 1978, while Repercussion spans the years 1994 to 1996.
One hopes this reflects that many physicians and prosthetists are more
competent today than in the 70s.
I wouldn’t call Whole Again an inspirational book except, perhaps, for
the way Bill Barr took charge of his own recovery and searched endlessly
for someone who could solve his prosthetic problems – and that is truly
inspirational. On the other hand, Repercussion, although it’s
technically a novel, qualifies as an inspirational self-help book and,
therefore, should be a must-read for new below-knee amputees.
A phrase that kept running through my mind as I read Whole Again is
“truth is stranger than fiction.” Read the first chapter of this
docu-drama and you won’t want to put this book down.
Fifty year-old Bill Barr is a wealthy real estate developer and Illinois
legislator. In 1970, a bomb, apparently planted under the hood of his
Cadillac by someone who doesn’t like his non-discriminatory housing
policies, blows his leg off as he tries to start the car. As the
subtitle suggests, the rest of the book is the story of Bill’s
indefatigable, heart wrenching, but inspirational quest for a prosthesis
that works for him – one that he can wear without pain.
But there are several other stories in this book. One of them is about
Bill’s son, Tony, who falls under a train in 1972 and loses part of his
foot. After eleven operations, Tony joins his father in his multi-year
search for a satisfactory prosthesis. (Tony is now the President of The
Barr Foundation, an organization that provides prostheses to amputees
who have no other sources of funds.)
This is also an activist book. It tells the story of physicians who
routinely amputate their patients’ arms and legs but who don’t know much
about prosthetics and, worse, don’t seem to care to learn. It is also
about inept prosthetists who are inadequately trained, not stringently
enough certified, unlicensed (even though people who fix our hair and do
our nails must be licensed), and about “the associations” run by “the
big boys” that are more interested in maintaining the status quo than in
improving the profession.
This book is also about Jan Stokosa, a prosthetist who learned his craft
as an apprentice to his abusively demanding, but highly competent,
prosthetist-father. Jan made his first prosthesis at 13 and wrote his
first prosthetic prescription at 16. But Jan’s harsh childhood treatment
has soured him on the prosthetics business. Even his father’s death
doesn’t set Jan free. He goes to Japan to study Judo but suffers a
career-ending injury. He cooks some, pumps gas, and takes construction
jobs. Finally, he is drawn back to the prosthetics business. Even though
he is a Certified Prosthetist he starts at the bottom – as a technician
in a very bad Jacksonville shop. Finally, he rejoins his father’s old
firm and – you guessed it – makes the first successful leg Bill Barr has
ever had – and one for Tony, too.
It takes a very good writer to weave all this into a smoothly flowing,
believable story, and Lee Whipple fills that bill impressively. His
writing is crisp and his character development is skillful. Without
Whipple, Whole Again might not have been the page-turner it is.
I wouldn’t recommend Whole Again for brand new amputees. I realize that
chronic pain, prosthetic problems, even drug or alcohol problems, are
true-to-life issues with which some amputees have to deal. And I greatly
admire people like Bill Barr who deal with them successfully. But new
amputees have enough difficulty adjusting to their new situation and
grieving their lost limb; they don’t need to be scared to death by
reading about a man who had to search for almost ten years for a
solution to his problems. There will be time for reading about that
later.
Repercussion is a very different book but is just as worthwhile and
enjoyable a read. It was even more fun for me because I know George
Velazquez, the below-knee amputee after whom this book’s leading man is
modeled, and recognized the fictionalized names of the amputee
associations, support groups, and prosthetists referred to in the story.
In Repercussion, George’s name is Antonio Rubio, a Puerto Rican
immigrant. He is an up-and-coming dancer, seeking fame and fortune in
the dog-eat-dog New York dance scene where “dancers are a dime a
dozen.” He finally lands a job as an exotic male dancer. He is good
looking. He is skillful, and he is creative. He makes a lot of money –
enough, at least, to enroll in Julliard’s prestigious theater arts
school and to begin searching for the Broadway jobs he has longed for
for so many years. He meets and eventually marries Rachel, another
dancer. Rachel is the love of his life and on the dance floor they seem
truly made for each other.
Antonio and Rachel soon become tired of “life in the fast lane” and move
to Atlanta to become ballroom dance instructors. Both they and their
students do very well. Antonio becomes the studio’s dance director.
The studio owner sponsors Antonio and Rachel as a professional couple in
the ballroom dance competition circuit.
Antonio is celebrating at a local watering hole after he and Rachel win
the semifinals in the Latin Dance Championship. The finals are the next
afternoon. As he is walking to his car at the end of the evening, a
hit-and-run driver runs him over in the club’s parking lot. Antonio
wakes up in the hospital minus his left leg. It is 4:15 p.m. The Latin
Championship round has started – without Antonio and Rachel.
The most heart rending, yet true-to-life part of the story begins here.
Antonio thinks his life is over. He is alternately angry and
depressed. He feels self-destructive. He lashes out at others. He
grieves his loss with a vengeance. He is visited in the hospital by a
peer visitor from the local amputee support group. Antonio rebuffs him.
As it turns out, Rachel can’t handle Antonio’s disability and she
rebuffs him. Their marriage eventually ends. Antonio is at the bottom
with no place to go but up. His students need him. It’s “dance or die.”
He starts his long road back.
Repercussion, is a book every new below-knee amputee should read. It
accurately portrays the physical and emotional challenges they will
probably face. The scenes in the hospital, the surgeon’s office, and the
prosthetist’s office are accurate and vivid. Antonio’s recovery isn’t
easy, but he perseveres. It’s hard and sometimes discouraging work.
But Antonio is a winner. His attitude is everything. The reader’s
conclusion is inescapable. If Antonio can do it, so can I.
The book jacket credits India J. Podsen as an author of books in the
field of education and a competitive ballroom dancer. Repercussion is
her first novel. Impressive! Her dance background has enabled her to
write convincingly about the highly stylized and competitive world of
ballroom dancing. Her close association with George Velazquez has
enabled her to write equally convincingly about life as an amputee. She
has penned an easy-to-read, engrossing tale.
Finally, it’s hard to write about Antonio without writing about George.
Today, George is not only a successful instructor for non-disabled,
wheelchair, and amputee dancers, but a clinician for amputees who want
to use dance as a way to improve their physical skills and self esteem –
or just to enjoy dancing. He is a motivational speaker, role model for
juvenile amputees, sponsor of the Captain Pegleg George Cruises – a
support group at sea with sun, fun, and dancing – and he competes
against non-disabled dancers — and wins! I’ve seen George dance. If I
told anyone he has a mechanical leg, they wouldn’t believe me. If you
want to read more about George Velazquez, get the November/December 1998
issue of In-Motion from the Amputee Coalition of America.
Whole Again – An amputee’s awesome ten year battle against continuous
pain, by Lee Whipple. Caroline House Publishers, Inc., Ottawa, IL. 1980
For a copy of the book, send a tax-deductible donation of $9.95 or more
to The Barr Foundation, 136 N.E. Olive Way, Boca Raton, FL 33432
Repercussion, by India J. Podsen, Ph.D. with George Velazquez.
Mindscapes Publishing, Alpharetta, GA. 1998. Repercussion is sold for
$14.95 by amazon.com. Or write Mindscapes Publishing at
Mindscp55@aol.com.
