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Complications from an auto accident in 2001 eventually necessitated amputation just below her knee. Pain prevented her from wearing her prosthesis and often from even getting out of bed. "I was living from one pain pill to the next, without ever knowing when and if my suffering would stop," she recalls, "Even worse, I had no one to talk to who had shared my experience." Price is recovering under her doctor's care, with help from the regular acupuncture treatments he provides. "The medical care, encouragement and support I've received from Dr. Mark Mancuso and his staff have helped keep me going when I wanted to give up on myself," she says. "Thanks to them, I feel I have my life back." Today, Price is a woman on a mission to help other amputees find the support they need to live life with a collective voice to help accomplish their goals. "I have a purpose now that I've been preparing for all these years. I just didn't know I'd be called to serve in this way," she says. Before her accident, Price had nearly completed training to become a community health nurse. Her education and previous 28 years in banking are proving to be important assets to filling the advocacy role she has chosen. After her surgery, the Christiana Care Rehabilitation Services team helped Price begin to manage her disability with weeks of therapy and counseling. They continue to support her efforts and have offered a meeting location for the amputee group at Riverside. Meeting schedules and activities will be publicized through local media and direct communications from Price and the cadre of friends and colleagues who have joined her initiative. The group is currently sending out surveys and compiling a database of interested supporters and potential members. Where Price is, her laptop computer is never far away. She has already made contact with many who share her goals through the Internet. She has gained valuable information and encouragement from the Amputee Coalition of America, (ACA) a non-profit organization providing advocacy, education and support for people who have experienced amputation or who are born with limb differences. Price has become a representative and has established her support group as an ACA chapter in Delaware. "We've already begun to assign committee responsibilities and develop an agenda," she reports. "We're planning both educational and fun activities, but we also want to stay focused on the issues that are important to improving the quality of life and access to the medical care and services amputees need." Reprinted with permission from the Christiana Care Health System 'Rehab Report'  Unless otherwise noted, all text and graphics on this site are
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