What he says :
"Some time ago Berne hospital called me.
They had a problem with a young amputee accident victim and he had lost the will to live.
I went to see him and I spoke quite harshly to him:
'You're on the 13th floor so jump if you want ! But if you want to live, you have to be willing to learn, to sweat, to do exercises.
I stayed an hour with him and showed him what I could do with my prosthesis.
It was OK in the end and the hospital rang and congratulated me."
Joseph Christe
Personal story
"Joseph Christe"
Joseph has always loved the mountains ...
The story
At the age of 38 he was hospitalised for angina.
A trainee nurse struck the sciatic nerve during a routine injection.
Some time later, his toes and his heel began to turn black and he lost all sensation.
He was given a sympathectomy operation in order to increase circulation in the leg. This was successful for ten years.
A graft was then attempted but it failed. He underwent two amputations (the first below the
knee then the whole leg).
Botta came to the hospital to measure him up.
He has had a prosthesis for 25 years.
Activities
He continued to work as a technician and planner in the Von Roll (Choindez) company.
He often had to work outside, standing. He has been retired since 1988.
Today Joseph is very busy and very independent :
He looks after his large house, keeps a vegetable garden, climbs ladders,
picks apples, freezes parsley and stores onions.
Until 1998 he kept about 10 beehives.
He goes regularly to the gym, goes fishing etc,
He cooks for himself but also for his large family (two sons, daughters-in-law and five grandchildren).
He is always on the lookout for new recipes, he really enjoys cooking.
And of course,
he goes shopping on his scooter.
"It is more practical than a car," he says, "and I can carry just as much.
Some in the compartment behind, some in a shopping bag between my legs
and the rest in my backpack. And I can go anywhere ".
The scooter represents freedom for him :
Six thousand km a year (more at present), he goes to Lugano or to the Valais region (his wife's village is situated at 1,219 m above sea level, opposite the south face of Lötschberg).
In spite of his prosthesis, he leaves at 7am and arrives there at midday. Once there he can go anywhere on the pathways.
The only time I feel handicapped
"It's in the mountains, when I'm walking on a slope, I have to put my good leg on the downward side. That's all!"
So good bye and good luck !
