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Legs
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Legs are the lower limbs, on which we stand or walk with. One of the characteristics of a living thing is its ability to move from one area to the next-locomotion. The legs help us carry this function. In an article issued on September, 2000, ' Down but not out.' Greg Latza writes a true story of a farmer that lost his leg on an accident.
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" 'On November 2, 1999, Gene Meleen found himself living every farmer's nightmare. As his legs were slowly shredding in the corn head of his John Deere 9610 combine, Meleen felt a strange sense of peace. He noticed the cool autumn breeze floating past his face and the clear blue sky above. Most people would view those as the fleeting sensations of a dying man, but Meleen was confident he would prevail." Actually, dying never crossed my mind," recalls Meleen, 42. "My main thought was, 'Dang, I'm not going to be able to snowmobile anymore.'" (a part of the article by Latza).
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The story by Latza is only one incident of how a person can lose a leg. Other ways include birth defects, disease and wars. Losing a leg is not an easy thing to cope with. most people fear the fact that they would not be able to do what they used to do. People who do not have legs are not capable of easy movement; some have to use crutches or wheel chairs. The introduction of prosthetic legs has made movement easier for them and in fact some are capable to do sports and other rehabilitation activities. The most popular prosthetic leg that has been used for years is a wooden stick like the one possessed by Captain Ahab, a character in Moby Dick. Researchers are working on creating a prosthetic leg that works as conveniently as a human leg. Smart Integrated Lower Limb (SILL) project is an example of a team that is working on improving the design of prosthetic legs. Prosthetic legs is changing the life of many disabled and if the kid in 'The pied piper' had one am sure he could have gone with the others inside the mountain.
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