Latest / OneLegUpAlex Media / How Removing the Word Defect From Medical Community Could Help Society Have One Leg Up

Transcript

How Removing the Word Defect From Medical Community Could Help Society Have One Leg Up · OneLegUpAlex Media

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Here's your host, Alex Garrett. Every day during Limloss Awareness Month,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I'll try and play an interview or have an interview
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: with someone who's lost a limb, and also give you
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: some insights into the limb loss world and statistics such
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: as this one. By the way, Alex Garrett. One leg
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: up with Alex, and I want to take you to
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: the CDC dot gov website because today today I want
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: to talk about limb reduction defects from birth. Did you
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: know that researchers estimate that about one in every twenty
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: one hundred babies. This was as in November twenty twenty four,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: has a limit reduction defect at birth in the United States.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: Now they define it as a limb reduction defect, occurring
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: when the armor leg fails to form completely and or
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: is reduced from its normal size or is missing. Some
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: babies will have limited reduction effects. It deffects affecting both
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: arms and legs. But I want to sort of change
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: the wording here because I feel like defect is such
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: an awful way to describe a baby, a newborn baby,
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: especially because we're not born defective. We're just born different,
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: and being born different is okay. And the CDC has
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: sort of a limited view of this because they say
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: limitations with certain movements sports or activities, as well as
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: the system with daily activities, difficulties with typical developments of
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: motor skills. But I've seen kids with one leg or
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: one arm like Jim Abbott play baseball. So I feel
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: like the CDC needs to widen their description of this
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: because a we're we're not born defective. If we're missing
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: a limb. We are just born different if we're born
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: missing a limb. I'm gonna say that one more time.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Born defective is not the right terminology. Born different is
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: acceptable because when you say someone's defective, you're like, oh,
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: well then we should throw out the trash, right we're defective. No, no, no, no,
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: We're not trash. We're not a defective piece of equipment.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: We're a human being. And that gets for anybody with
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: a disability. I don't like the word defective. I wish
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: we would just abolish that word when it comes to
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: some of these disability explanations. And while they sort of say, well,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: here's why you can have a BA be born with
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: a missing limb, I just don't like that too. Don't
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: judge the woman for having a baby that was born
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: with no limb. That's not her fault. That is I believe,
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: and I've been raised to believe the way God made
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: me and many others who were born with this limb
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: defect and limb reduction. But we're not defective CDC. We
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: are born differently. So if you could simply reword this
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: to say limb reduction statistics instead of the headline limb
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: reduction defects, I think we'll be happier, will be more
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: okay with being a stat I guess a number. But
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: when you say, hey, here's a baby born with a defect,
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: I know medically that's what they say, but culturally it
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: just is not right. So from the CEC, who I'm
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: sure tries to make it feel and sound like, well,
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: we're including people with disabilities, people who have limb defects, this,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: that and the other. That's great, but don't call us
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: defective because we can live long lives. And they do
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: say that here that properer treatment and care will with
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: support individuals to live long, healthy and productive lives. And
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: we are thankful that there are prosthetic companies out there
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: that help people with limb loss. We really are some
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: it's not right for some it is, but never call
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: us defective, call us born different, better yet limb reduction
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: determinants or determination because I believe people who are born
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: without a limb can be determined to live a full
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: and healthy life. They just need that encouragement. They don't
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: want to be called defective. They should want to be
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: called determined to live, not defective, as if for some
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: broken down piece of equipment. We're not so CDC change
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: that labeling, especially Limb Loss Awareness Month. Maybe that's a
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: change you can unveil because it's not that we are defective.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: We are rare. And if you want to say limb
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: reduction rarities, that's fine too, but never say the word defect.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: I wish the medical community would really abolish that term
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: defect because it should be an offensive term to those
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: who were born without a limb. And I'm mentioning this
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: because limb loss awareness typically is about the amputees. And yes,
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: we have to always acknowledge the journey of an amputee.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: I love talking to amputees on this podcast One Leg Up.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: Their journey is inspiring. Mary Johnson, I mean, she runs marathons.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: She just got her master's. She'd changed her life around
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: after losing her leg. She graduated Saint John's Law. How
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: cool is that? I mean, come on, amputees kick ass,
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: and so do people who were born without a limb
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: our Limb loss happened somewhere down the road, and we
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: don't know why. We just know God made us this
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: way and we're not born defective. We're born determined, determined
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: to thrive in this life. Maybe that's why I had
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: a fist up in the air every minute of the
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: time I was on the Nickeu at seventy seven days,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: because the soul did not want to leave the earth.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: The soul was determined. The soul was not defective, the
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: body was not really defective. We just need a lot
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: of work on it. And because of that work of
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: the great doctors. By the way, it was Doctor's Week
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: this week, here we are able to host one leg
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: up with Alex Carrett. And because of love and support
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: of my family, here we are that I'm able to
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: do this podcast right now. But CDC please change the
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: wording for the one in every twenty one hundred babies
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: who are born with limb reduction determination, not defection, not defectiveness,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: not defected, because a defect is something you describe a
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: broken property, not a human being. And that's how the
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: CDC can have one leg up for those who have
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: limb reduction at birth and do the parents will say,
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: oh my god, what do we do wrong? Never blame yourself,
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: Never blame yourself, because these things, as rare as as is,
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: could happen. It could change a whole family's world, but
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: it could happen, and adapting to that, helping your child
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: become determined and not feel defective, is the best course
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: of action. But if the medical field could stop telling
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: parents and stop telling the kids, hey, you know you
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: were born defective or here's your defect, I think we
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: would be better off too. It's twenty twenty five. We're
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: supposed to accept, and we do accept people that are transgender, transable.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: I mean people want to become disabled. I don't understand.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: But in this world we're supposed to be so accepting,
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: so accept that people who are born with limb reduction
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: are not defective. They are determined, and that determination could
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: lead you to throw a no hitter for the Yankees
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety three that determination of being born with
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: one leg could truly help us rise above that defective
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: stigma and truly be having one leg up in life.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: That's it for now, I'm Alex Garrett. On the adapting
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: side of things. We're gonna talk with Doug Kats, who's
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: got an interesting kitchen tool later today. I've gotta post
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: that up that inter before you, so stay tuned to
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: more of the One Leg Up Network. I'm Alex Garrett.