Greg Mills prides himself on being a ``glass half full” kind of man.
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Twelve years ago the Shepparton resident had to have his right leg amputated below the knee after a massive blood clot stopped the blood flow to his foot and lower leg.
At the age of 60, and within four days of what looked like an infection at first, Mr Mills was operated on to have his leg removed below the knee.
In less than two months he had completed his rehabilitation and was allowed to go home.
While his life changed that day, Mr Mills doesn’t let that stop him from doing anything.
He has had his car converted so he has a left foot accelerator, and he still bowls, swims and plays croquet at Lifestyle Shepparton village where he lives.
“If there is something there, I will try it,” Mr Mills says.
“I’ve given up rock climbing and bungee jumping,” he jokes, before admitting he has never contemplated either of these activities.
He does, however, have trouble walking long distances — but his trusty scooter helps him get wherever he needs to within the over-50s village where he lives.
Not one to sit around and dwell on the negatives of what has happened to him, Mr Mills prefers to look on the positive side of life.
“I think, `Greg, you’ve lost a leg. Big deal. You’ve got another’,” he says.
Instead, he says he thinks of the Diggers during wartime who lost limbs on the battlefield and had to lay there until someone dragged them back to safety.
“A lot depends on the sort of person you are. I’m a positive nature. The glass is always full,” he said.
“You’ve got to be positive. There’s no use crawling into a foetal position. What will that do?”
Mr Mills was fitted with his first prosthetic leg while in rehabilitation and has gone on to have eight or 10 different prosthetics since.
He also has a ‘wet leg’ that he uses when he is in the shower or swimming.
“That allows me to go in the water, the same as everyone else,” Mr Mills said.
When he gets up each morning, Mr Mills gets into his wheelchair and wheels himself to the bathroom where he puts on his wet leg and has a shower.
Afterwards he puts on his everyday leg and wears it until he goes to bed each night.
Mr Mills says does not feel uncomfortable with other people seeing his prosthetic leg and feels that it can open up important conversations both with children and adults.
“In summer I only wear shorts,” he says.
He says children often look at his leg, or ask him about it, something he thinks is a good thing.
“If they don’t ask, or don’t inquire, they don’t learn (about amputees),” he says.
“I pick my audience, but sometimes I say a shark got me, or I’m a transformer.”
He has also had women stop him in the street and ask how he lost his leg and talk to him about how their husband was looking at losing a leg.
“I give the pros and cons. But everyone is different,” he says.
Mr Mills also uses his position as an amputee to help train students at La Trobe University’s prosthetics and orthotics department.
His most important work, however, is the work he does as a peer support worker for Australian amputees’ peak body, Limbs 4 Life.
As part of his role, Mr Mills speaks with people who have either just lost a limb or who will soon have one amputated.
“If someone is about to lose their limb, they want to know what happens next,” he says.
“They’re going to have questions.”
While Mr Mills says his role is not one of a counsellor, he and fellow peer support workers are able to offer factual advice based on how they cope.
They also offer practical advice such as talking about what Centrelink or the National Disability Insurance Agency might do to help those who have lost a limb, and can direct them to occupational therapists who can advise them on necessities they will need to make life easier, such as handrails and a wheelchair.
Mr Mills’ most important message, however, is a simple one.
“There is life after amputation.”