Who are you?
My name is Mariko, born and bred in the colorful city of Tokyo, Japan. I’m a bilateral above knee amputee and work as a Web advertising designer. Being Japanese, it might not come as a surprise I passionately love singing karaoke. And I can tell you, we luckily have a lot of those places around here.
What is your story?
In the summer of 2021, when Covid was in full bloom all over the world, I got what I thought was a regular flu. I was lying in bed for 5 days with a fever, cough and running nose. I figured it would pass fairly quickly, but on day 5 my parents got home and found me passed out on the floor. They urgently had to send me into the hospital with an ambulance. Next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital bed some days later, having both legs amputated above knee. I obviously had septic chock, and to safe my life the doctors had to take both my legs off. I was devastated. Not only by the fact that my legs were gone, but also because I couldn’t see my family due to the covid situation. It would take almost one year, with minimal contact only with care takers, until I could see them live and be close again. With the help of a great clinic, smooth prosthetics and a lot of training I’m now up on new feet again.
What does “Xtend Your life” mean to you?
For me it means to dare to go out of my comfort zone, and also to keep challenging myself and overcome things I cannot do. I’m a firm believer that is the best strategy to become a good prosthetic user. I really have a dream to be able to expand my range of motion and see where it can get me in the future. And actually, using the Xtend Foot, has taken me quite far already.
Follow Mariko at https://www.instagram.com/mariko_bilateralprosthetics
