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| The Wardrobe |
The spare leg belonged to my Aunty, whose life was ruined
by the fact that her foot had to be amputated after a children's game went wrong when she was
six years old. She wore an artificial leg for the rest of her
life. And what a brutal leg it was. Made
of leather and metal it had a punishing hinge at the knee and a solid wooden
foot to fit inside her shoe. She was a tall, good-looking woman with auburn
hair and she was very capable. She was loved by every child that met her and she'd have made a wonderful Nanny, but she hid from the world so that nobody would notice
the leg.
Over the last two weeks I’ve thought a lot about her and
wondered how she would have reacted to the Paralympics and the sight of
athletes wearing sports clothes that revealed their deformities to the world.
And as for those running Blades – they’d have been beyond
her comprehension, but as I watched a TV programme showing a young woman athlete being
specially fitted with one, I remembered Aunty’s stump wrapped in
a thick woollen sock, being forced into that hateful limb.
The young woman in the programme laughed as she told the
world that she had five legs including one Blade and one that was suitable to
wear with 5” heels.
I wonder if she keeps those in the wardrobe!
Does anybody else have memories like these?
I don't have such memories but still I found your post really moving. How different it is now and what a good thing that is.
ReplyDeleteYes, thank goodness the world has moved on. But what brave people these athletes are!
ReplyDelete