Chizuko Hara

Residing in Osaka prefecture, she lost her left leg from above the knee in a car accident. Now She lives her life while using a prosthetic leg from her thigh down. She is currently working as a civil servant while also acting as director of the High Heel Flamingo NPO, where She participates in activities such as interaction with female prosthesis users. Her favorite things are going on trips, reading books, eating delicious food, and so on.

When I was an 18-year-old freshman in college, I lost my left leg in a car accident. My leg ended up being amputated above the knee. I have no recollection of the accident and when I regained consciousness, I was in an ICU unit. I was informed by the doctor that the amputation was necessary in order to save my life. I remember that the weight of the news was so shocking that I almost collapsed, so I couldn’t even cry. My right leg was also broken, so it took me three months just to stand up, and even though I wanted to stand, it was almost as if I had forgotten how. I practiced walking with the prosthetic leg while regaining all the knowledge I needed for my daily life, including how to move and balance the body when walking. I was finally discharged from the hospital 6 months later. I then returned to college and graduated, taking a year longer than my classmates. I was worried about whether or not I could go out and work in society, but I found a job, as a clerical worker and have continued the same job for over 20 years.

It has been 30 years since I have become a user of a prosthetic leg. My life with the artificial leg has now been longer than without it. In retrospect, during my first few years, every day attaching the prosthetic leg caused sores to form and I felt pain in my leg. It was also quite frustrating because I couldn’t move around the way I wanted. As my body got used to the artificial leg, I became able to go on domestic trips such as going to hot springs with my family and close friends, and I even went on overseas trips. Opportunities to try different things like sports also increased. I especially got hooked on yoga, and I attended yoga classes just about every week for about 10 years. At first, when I wanted to do some kind of exercise, I went to a yoga studio for a trial lesson. I was really happy with the teacher’s style of teaching, and I was so glad to see that I could do pretty well. That’s how I became to like it so much. I take yoga lessons with my prosthesis on, but I cannot keep my knees bent with it on, so I do standing poses with my right leg as the axis and enjoy thinking of different ways of doing things.

A few years ago, I came across an organization called High Heel Flamingo organized by women who use prosthetic legs and other people involved in this field, such as prosthetists and orthotics. I have been using an artificial leg for quite a long time, but I am someone who has not had very much contact with other users. I felt it fresh and had a strange sense of security by sharing my problems with using an artificial leg, such as “Oh yeah, I have the same trouble, too. How do you deal with it?” Or “That’s tough, isn’t it?”

Speaking of recent changes, in November of last year, I started using a prosthetic leg that has a different socket (the part that houses the remaining part of the leg and supports the weight) from the previous one. For me, it was a small challenge. I decided to change it with the thought of making the artificial leg easier to attach, but the socket is an important part. It is the connection point with the body. At first, I got tired when I walked just a little, and when I used the new leg for an entire day, I felt pain in my leg. I struggled a lot with this unfamiliar prosthesis, and I thought this was like the time when I first began using an artificial leg. As I kept using it day by day, my body gradually started getting used to it. At High Heel Flamingo, one can share the troubles associated with such prostheses, how to interact with it, and get advice on how to work on things that one has always wanted to do. I am grateful for such a place, and I was invited to participate in the activities as a director and now I’m doing my best in that role. The anxiety and disappointment I felt when I lost my leg might have been partially alleviated if I had known about this place earlier. With that in mind, I hope to help create a place where people who live with artificial legs can feel at ease.

The motto of High Heel Flamingo is "Let's go where you want to go, not where you can go!"  It may seem natural to "go where you want to go", but it's not all that easy for individuals who use artificial legs. However, instead of giving up from the beginning, the range of possibilities of what I can do by myself or with my friends expands with ingenuity and help. I think that mastering the prosthesis and taking on small challenges will always lead to "go where you want to go!" Little by little is fine. Anyway, it’s time to enjoy yoga!