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Amputation – how to piece daily life back together?

No matter the circumstances that changed your life, finding your balance again is a process without a preset schedule. While the first steps often revolve around medical care and paperwork, this section is primarily about authentic stories, proven lifehacks, and practical tips for everyday living. See how others navigate day to day, find inspiration, and piece together your new reality on your own terms. Step by step, and at your own pace.

A woman with a below-elbow prosthesis sitting at a table deep in thought, a light bulb in her thought bubble

Educational content: this section describes personal experience and general practical knowledge. It does not replace advice from a doctor, a lawyer or an adviser at PFRON – the State Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons – on your individual case.

Where to start

There is no single right order, but there is one that saves the most nerves. I start with what usually hurts first.

Phantom pain

A leg that is not there hurts. It is not in your head, it is not imagination, and it happens to most of us. Start here, because until you understand this, the rest can wait.

Rehabilitation

The stages are similar for most people, the time they take is not. The foundation’s founder describes his own path, which took years, and what really decides that.

Paperwork, step by step

Disability certificate, prescription, NFZ funding, PFRON, choosing a clinic. Some of these have deadlines you cannot make up later, so do not leave them for another time.

Articles from this section

Every text in this section, newest first.

Residual limb Re-amputation. When the residual limb needs a second operation

Volume Changing residual limb volume. Why a prosthesis holds better in the morning than in the evening

Compression Swelling and residual limb compression. Bandage, shrinker, liner and when to start

Contractures Contractures after amputation. Why the residual limb settles into flexion and how to prevent it

Residual limb care Residual limb care in the first weeks. What I learned in practice

Phantom limb pain Phantom limb pain. Something that is not there hurts. Where it comes from and what helps

Phantom limb pain Neuroma, radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation and nerve surgery. What to do when the pain comes back years later

Rehabilitation Rehabilitation after amputation: what the road looks like, and why it's different for everyone

Come across a term you don't know?

Look it up in the glossary in Resources – one place with every definition from across the site.

Open the glossary

Prefer watching to reading?

In “Życie po amputacji” (Life After Amputation) we will talk to people who have been through it about emotions, staying active and getting back to everyday life.

See the planned series

Looking for support from other people with limb loss?

That's a separate section of the portal: webinars, mentoring and conversations with people who have already been through it.

Go to Community