Missing Limbs

A few months ago I wrote a post about a young man who lost his leg in Iraq. Since then, I have been noticing more and more missing limbs. Maybe it is because I live ten blocks from the Nation Headquarters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Maybe it is because I teach science a block from there. Perhaps it is because I catch the bus across the street from the VFW. Maybe it is because I live in a part of town where public transit is readily available and I use it. Or maybe our kids are literally leaving pieces of themselves behind in a foreign land.Whatever the reason, I'm noticing a lot of young people missing limbs, and I'm a health care professional - there has not been a tremendous spike in bone cancer or traumas resulting in amputation around here.

I, for one, am sick of it. Again this morning I caught the bus with an amputee about my son's age, both directions. It was almost the last straw, but I held it together until I got off the bus and past Main Street, then I lost it.