Struggles of Boston Amputees Mount

LOWELL, Mass—Settling carefully into a chair at a brew pub, Celeste Corcoran surveyed the other diners. Most of them wore shorts, and she gazed at what seemed like a sea of tanned legs. "They don't even realize what they have," she said. Mrs. Corcoran, a 47-year-old hairdresser from this working-class city northwest of Boston, lost both legs when twin bombs ripped through the Boston Marathon finish line. Five months later, even routine outings can leave her feeling wistful.

State-of-the-art prostheses are slowly helping Mrs. Corcoran reclaim independence, but she can tolerate them only for a few hours a day. Her husband carries her upstairs to bed each night, and she sometimes feels stabbing pain in toes she lost months ago. Like many of the 16 people who lost limbs in the bombings, she has found recovery can be a grueling ordeal of setbacks and frustrations.

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Many of the bombing victims, including Mrs. Corcoran, feel fortunate to have survived. More than $60 million paid out from a compensation fund is easing financial anxieties. The amputees also benefit from medical advances growing out of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, such as prosthetic legs with knees controlled by computer chips. But as Boston moves on from the April 15 attack, which killed three people and wounded more than 260, some amputees find themselves on a lonely road, grappling not only with pain and repeated surgeries but with an emotional fallout that includes pressure to be billboards for Boston's resilience.

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Counselors say some amputees are starting to withdraw from all the appreciative attention they got—throwing out first pitches at Fenway Park and being honored at a Patriots football game—amid the realization their recoveries aren't straightforward tales of resolve and success... Doctors fought to save as much limb as possible, but in half of the 18 amputations, on 16 people, patients lost the use of their knees. That means greater exertion while walking, more difficulty doing everyday tasks and more wear on other joints. Some amputees have yet to resume walking.

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Amputees are contemplating more-accessible homes and pricey prostheses. They have raised money themselves and have benefited from the One Fund, established by Boston's mayor and the Massachusetts governor with private donations, which paid them $1.2 million or $2.2 million each, depending on whether they lost one leg or two. Dr. Crandell of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital said insurers have largely covered the best prostheses, the fanciest of which can cost more than $100,000, though that isn't typical. He worries that survivors may face steep bills when they start having to replace the artificial limbs every three to five years.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324492604579083040654421528.html

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Sad, just sad.