Until today, this podcast series has focused on healthcare professionals and researchers and the myriad activities in which they all engage. We are very excited that, for this interview, listeners have an opportunity to hear the views of an individual who was on the other side. Mr. Pierre Lucien is an individual who had both legs amputated above the knee. In 2008, while on a training run with the Atlanta, Georgia Police Department, he fell to the ground unconscious when he experienced massive organ failure. In an effort to save his life, doctors had to amputate both of his legs above the knees. He later was transferred to the Rusk Rehabilitation Institute at NYU Langone where he underwent additional surgery and began rehabilitation. Today, he is married and the father of two children and earns a living while employed at a police department in Marietta, Georgia. The interview with him consists of three parts.
In Part 1 we discussed: if there had been any signs or symptoms prior to his collapse and loss of consciousness; where he obtained treatment; his age when his legs were amputated; length of time as both an inpatient and an outpatient; time elapsed from time of surgery to rehabilitation; kinds of health and other kinds of professionals who provided care; amputation as a life changing event; adjustments that had to be made in various aspects of daily living and functioning; and for a single person who experienced amputation, how dating was affected.
