Stumped

“Stumped” is a documentary that follows Will Lautzenheiser, an amputee from an infection, who learns to deal with his new lifestyle through means of comedy, filmmaking, and friends and family to raise awareness of being an amputee. It’s informative and offers the viewers an insight on what it would be like to be in his situation.

We get to witness him shining light on his disabilities through his comedic routines and we get to witness him transform as he learns to adapt with it on his own. Eventually the film progresses and we learn of a double arm transplant that had taken place and it was a success. The whole speculation revolves around if Will wants to go through with that as well and risk rejection and possible death due to complications. Will decides to do so and I have to be honest, I was holding my breath. With all of the risks involved, Will’s determination to feel something once more in his life prevails those worries.

This film shows the impact it had not only on Will’s life, but his family’s and close friends as well as the community. The whole first half does a really good job at establishing who exactly Will is and why we should care. It has interviews with his parents, his twin brother, and his partner. All of them establish what Will was like before the infection that would change his life forever. The documentary includes plenty of footage from when Will was younger with his brother. The filmmakers even got their hands on some of Will’s own films which complimented his overall personality. The fact Will had such a great sense of humor about his condition – you’d be forced to if you were stuck in that – really said a lot about how he handled certain things in life. He’s strong-willed, determined, and most of all… independent; though he claims he’s dependent on others to help him out – I didn’t get a sense of that.

This documentary also gives us a brief history on organ transplants and what potential risks they impose on the individual if the body rejects the organ. In a way it shows both sides of the procedures good and bad. There are a lot of benefits to having a successful transplant that can save numerous lives. However, there is an ethical approach questioning how we know it’s the “right” thing to do and the numerous medications you have to intake after the procedure that even cause life-threatening side-effects themselves. Numerous tests are taken to make sure the subject is fit for the transplant and numerous hospital visits after the procedure have to be done in order to catch early infections of rejections. It was quite eye-opening in all honesty.

I admire Will for being so strong and determined to not let the infectious amputation take ahold of his life. This film had me wondering what other advancements modern medicine can accomplish and how many boundaries they might have to cross in order to save lives of those thousands of people on the waiting list. I would highly recommend this film as it offers an insight of what it’d be like to have to face these questions head on. It’s a truly remarkable film.