Hi, I’m John Falloon and I was born with Congenital Aplasia of both legs. This birth abnormality takes many forms, but for me, it meant that I was missing my fibulas in my legs, the bones and tissue were malformed, and I only had three toes on each foot. The first seven years of my life were spent in the Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children in Winnipeg. I was raised by nurses, many of whom didn’t have the time to give me the nurturing that I so badly needed.
I went through surgery after surgery and the doctors did everything they could to allow me to walk on my own legs. At the age of five, though, my father made the difficult decision to have both of my legs amputated so I could at least walk on prostheses. As I grew older, I deliberately misbehaved and caused trouble in order to get attention. At the time, it didn’t matter whether the attention was positive or negative, but I know now that it was a behaviour I adopted as a result of my time in the hospital.
Eventually, I founded a successful telecommunications company, got married (and divorced), and raised two daughters. Even after I reached adulthood, though, I often reacted to situations and people in ways that didn’t quite make sense to me, which led me on a journey to become Self Aware.