The Kindness of Strangers.

On Tuesday of this week, at the hundredth time of her asking, I agreed with Mary that I should join an amputee Facebook group. I don't know why, but in the couple of weeks in which I'd been getting used to the idea of losing my leg, I'd been reluctaant to do so, this being pretty typical of me. But I can tell you that every minute I spent procrastinating about it, was a minute wasted.

It felt like just a few seconds since I'd clicked 'post' to introduce myself and then...ping...ping...ping... messages of support, encouragement, love and most importantly hope, from a community of some of the kindest people I've never met.

It has been overwhelming and. humbling, but most importantly, incredibly helpful to be able to reach into a group who empathize with aand understand what you're going through. So if you ever find yourself facing an amputation or if you're a friend, family member or the carer of someone about to go through this, don't mess about - join a group immediately.

There are a few out there, but. the group I joined is called 'Amputee Peer and Support Group' and I'm proud to now be part of it.