Like Missing an Arm Should Stop Me Being a Nurse!

Like Missing an Arm Should Stop Me Being a Nurse!
by Liz Perkins ABD, RNMH



When I left high school I was like so many others – unsure of what I really wanted to be when I grew up. All through my school years I had never felt any different from my peers. But I was different – I was a congenital amputee – I had no right arm save about six inches from the shoulder down. My nick-name was the one-armed bandit – not very original, but having grown up and gone through school with the same group of friends my disability really was a non-issue. Furthermore, prosthetic arms were merely an annoyance to me, I much preferred having the use of my “little arm” as I always referred to it. So anyway – I was one of those kids who really enjoyed school – I was a bright student and did well in sports too. I played for my school teams in hockey, rounders (similar to softball), netball (like basketball), and my strong left arm meant that I was pretty good at all throwing events in athletics!