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"A few days ago, I was supposed to meet Lauren and the others for lunch after we finished with our morning classes (college is great, but...I do wish the morning classes didn't start so early, you know?). Unfortunately, I got a message overnight saying that my ONE morning class for the day had been cancelled as the professor had come down with a case of food poisoning the night before..."

"Well, since I had nothing else to do, I decided I'd go for a walk around campus and just enjoy the atmosphere, you know? But as I was getting dressed, I realized I had SOMEHOW forgotten to charge my prosthetic leg the night before (it's one of those computerized legs, which means it doesn't work if it's not charged). So, since I couldn't use my prosthetic leg, I just threw on a pair of tights (custom-tailored to fit my stump, of course), grabbed my forearm crutches, and headed out. Sure, it'd probably take me longer to get around campus on crutches...but it's not like time was an issue, you know?"

"About an hour later, I was making my way through the park in the middle of campus (which was practically empty since most everyone else was in class at the time) when I heard a voice calling out to me from behind. I'll admit, I was a bit startled at first, as I didn't realize someone else was in the park with me. However, I was quite relieved when I saw the person greeting me was a young man (and fellow amputee) I'd seen around campus a few times before..."

"...Honestly, I've been secretly hoping to run into him for a while now, as it'd be nice to have someone to talk to who actually KNOWS what it's like to be an amputee. (Now, don't get me wrong, I'm extremely grateful for how understanding Lauren and the others are, but....well, there's just some things about being an amputee that ONLY fellow amputees will understand, you know?) And as it turns out, he'd been hoping to run into me for the exact same reason."

"So, after we introduced ourselves, we sat down on a nearby park bench and spent the next few hours just talking about our experiences as amputees...which, oddly enough, are quite similar. For example, it turns out we both had our legs amputated when we were just infants (and in both cases, it was due to a rare congenital limb deformity), we both rarely have to deal with phantom pains (likely due to losing our legs at such an early age), and we both prefer to use our prosthetic legs whenever possible (it helps us feel...normal, you know?)."

"Given how wrapped up we were in our conversation, it should come as no surprise that we kinda lost track of time...well, until my phone started ringing, that is. Apparently, Lauren and the others had gotten worried when I didn't show up for lunch, and when I didn't reply to their texts, they started calling me instead. So, after apologizing to my friends and explaining why I was gonna be late (and agreeing to make it up to them by paying for everyone's lunch once I got there), I grabbed my crutches and apologized to my new friend for having to cut our conversation short."

"Fortunately, he was quite understanding, admitting that he needed to be heading to class anyways. But before I could leave, he quickly stopped me, saying he had forgotten to ask me something. Apparently, he had been discussing an idea with one of his professors (himself an amputee from his time in the armed forces) about starting an amputee support group on campus, and was wondering if it was something I would be interested in. Well, considering how much I had enjoyed our conversation, I quickly said 'yes' and gave him my number so he could text me when he had the 'when and where' figured out. And with that, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. "

"Anyways, a few minutes ago he finally sent me a message with all the 'when and where' details, to which I quickly replied that I'd be there and that I was looking forward to it. And while I am looking forward to talking with other amputees in a group setting, I'm REALLY looking forward to talking with him again , because I....well, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I...I kinda forgot what his name was..."

Description

"A few days ago, I was supposed to meet Lauren and the others for lunch after we finished with our morning classes (college is great, but...I do wish the morning classes didn't start so early, you know?). Unfortunately, I got a message overnight saying that my ONE morning class for the day had been cancelled as the professor had come down with a case of food poisoning the night before..."

"Well, since I had nothing else to do, I decided I'd go for a walk around campus and just enjoy the atmosphere, you know? But as I was getting dressed, I realized I had SOMEHOW forgotten to charge my prosthetic leg the night before (it's one of those computerized legs, which means it doesn't work if it's not charged). So, since I couldn't use my prosthetic leg, I just threw on a pair of tights (custom-tailored to fit my stump, of course), grabbed my forearm crutches, and headed out. Sure, it'd probably take me longer to get around campus on crutches...but it's not like time was an issue, you know?"

"About an hour later, I was making my way through the park in the middle of campus (which was practically empty since most everyone else was in class at the time) when I heard a voice calling out to me from behind. I'll admit, I was a bit startled at first, as I didn't realize someone else was in the park with me. However, I was quite relieved when I saw the person greeting me was a young man (and fellow amputee) I'd seen around campus a few times before..."

"...Honestly, I've been secretly hoping to run into him for a while now, as it'd be nice to have someone to talk to who actually KNOWS what it's like to be an amputee. (Now, don't get me wrong, I'm extremely grateful for how understanding Lauren and the others are, but....well, there's just some things about being an amputee that ONLY fellow amputees will understand, you know?) And as it turns out, he'd been hoping to run into me for the exact same reason."

"So, after we introduced ourselves, we sat down on a nearby park bench and spent the next few hours just talking about our experiences as amputees...which, oddly enough, are quite similar. For example, it turns out we both had our legs amputated when we were just infants (and in both cases, it was due to a rare congenital limb deformity), we both rarely have to deal with phantom pains (likely due to losing our legs at such an early age), and we both prefer to use our prosthetic legs whenever possible (it helps us feel...normal, you know?)."

"Given how wrapped up we were in our conversation, it should come as no surprise that we kinda lost track of time...well, until my phone started ringing, that is. Apparently, Lauren and the others had gotten worried when I didn't show up for lunch, and when I didn't reply to their texts, they started calling me instead. So, after apologizing to my friends and explaining why I was gonna be late (and agreeing to make it up to them by paying for everyone's lunch once I got there), I grabbed my crutches and apologized to my new friend for having to cut our conversation short."

"Fortunately, he was quite understanding, admitting that he needed to be heading to class anyways. But before I could leave, he quickly stopped me, saying he had forgotten to ask me something. Apparently, he had been discussing an idea with one of his professors (himself an amputee from his time in the armed forces) about starting an amputee support group on campus, and was wondering if it was something I would be interested in. Well, considering how much I had enjoyed our conversation, I quickly said 'yes' and gave him my number so he could text me when he had the 'when and where' figured out. And with that, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. "

"Anyways, a few minutes ago he finally sent me a message with all the 'when and where' details, to which I quickly replied that I'd be there and that I was looking forward to it. And while I am looking forward to talking with other amputees in a group setting, I'm REALLY looking forward to talking with him again , because I....well, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I...I kinda forgot what his name was..."