Hitting the Reset Button: Reconnecting the Phantom Limb 

Background & Set/Setting: I grew up wrestling and playing football in a rough town; fighting was just part of life. In 1993, I joined the Army and was stationed in Germany. A week after I graduated, I started having an issue with my right leg that I thought was just a pinched nerve. It got progressively worse until I physically couldn't walk at all. My girlfriend drove me to the emergency room, and the doctor told me I had a massive blood clot in the artery of my right leg. I ended up going through two amputations—first below the knee, and three weeks later, they had to take it above the knee.

After losing my leg, I went to a very dark place. I was put on a heavy cocktail of pain pills: oxycodone, morphine, and tramadol. Nothing helped; I was in constant pain and pretty much stuck at the house. The doctors kept telling me all the things I was never going to be able to do again, telling me I’d be lucky just to walk. Honestly, I’m glad they said that because it made me furious. I didn't want to be dependent on these pills for the rest of my life, and I could see how they were destroying me physically and mentally. I decided I was completely done with the prescriptions.

The Experience: I found my way to a program that offered alternative therapies for veterans, and that's when I first heard about something called "Healing Touch". Initially, my reaction was pure skepticism. I remember thinking, "What? I don't understand this at all". But I was desperate enough to try it out.

The session itself turned out to be one of the weirdest experiences of my life. The practitioner didn't give me any medication; instead, she started working in the empty space where my physical foot used to be.

Almost immediately, I felt this distinct energy moving in a circle-like motion. It wasn't just a vague feeling—it was a highly physical sensation. Suddenly, this energy started to flow upwards, and to my absolute shock, I could feel my leg again. The space that had been amputated was suddenly alive with sensation.

Aftermath & Integration: That single session acted like a massive psychological and physical shift. The energy work helped me get to a mental state where it felt exactly like hitting the "reset button" on my life and my trauma. There was simply nothing better than it.

Since that profound reconnection, my activity level has skyrocketed far beyond what I ever thought possible. I started training in Jiu-Jitsu, and I absolutely loved it. Today, I coach the little kids' class in Jiu-Jitsu and boxing at Trials MMA, and I run a program called Be Bold to help people of all abilities. I even traveled to Saudi Arabia to compete in the World Combat Games in Abu Dhabi. I am on track to become the first above-the-knee amputee in the US to go from a white belt to a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu.

Looking back, the energy work gave me the reset I needed to find the actual advantages in my disability. It taught me that regardless of whatever you go through, if you can clear the blockages, you can do whatever you want.