Traumatic amputation: psychosocial adjustment of six Army women to loss of one or more limbs.

More than 220,000 U.S. servicewomen fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, more than 135 gave their lives, more than 600 were injured, and at least 24 lost one or more limbs. With no research on the adjustment of women to amputation or on military women's adjustment to traumatic limb loss, the phenomenological approach was used to gain an in-depth understanding of this life experience. Six Army women shared their personal adjustment experience to limb loss. This experience included personal safety fears, body image issues, grief, and loss. Recovering from traumatic amputation in a military environment promoted a "kick-butt" attitude, with these servicewomen reporting that a positive attitude, social support, personal courage, resiliency, military training, humor, and the belief their loss had meaning most influenced their recovery.