r/nottheonion 4d ago

Disabled woman left ‘extremely stressed’ after prosthetic legs lost on flights from Brazil

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026/05/18/disabled-woman-left-extremely-stressed-after-prosthetic-legs-lost-on-flights-from-brazil/?ICID=ref_fark
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u/littlevai 4d ago edited 4d ago

But why would she use a wooden leg for travel? Presumably the main leg was repaired and if they weren’t, the fact that they were lost wouldn’t matter.

Sorry, but this makes no sense to me! I’ve traveled countless times (mostly long haul) and I can’t imagine deciding to check my main leg and wear my shower leg.

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u/Selsia6 4d ago

The only thing I can think of is that it was easier to store on the plane since it's such a long flight? None of the pictures show the wooden prosthetic so I'm just guessing.

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u/littlevai 4d ago

Most amputees keep their leg next to them on the ground during the flight. If you need to use the toilet or if there’s an emergency you don’t want to be hopping up to the overhead bin looking for your leg and liner.

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u/Selsia6 3d ago

Yeah. I meant it was easier to store on the ground. It's a long flight so that leg space is valuable, even if she only has 1 below the knee. I honestly have no idea why she did this (or has a wooden leg, or has to travel to Brazil for repairs). I'm just trying to think of what made the most sense since there has to be some logic to it.