The character concepts date back to when I was still using crutches rather than the chair, and I wanted a protagonist who uses crutches regularly because in all my years of reading I've only seen two. An amputee is a convenient reason for using crutches, and also lets me show that someone can tailor their use of mobility aids to suit the circumstances, as she notes when she's about to be dragged out to a hillside:- "My prosthetic lets me walk on level ground just fine. But for rough ground and for agility I prefer crutches, and for endurance a wheelchair."
Re: Glad you were able to wrestle your work from the cloud
The character concepts date back to when I was still using crutches rather than the chair, and I wanted a protagonist who uses crutches regularly because in all my years of reading I've only seen two. An amputee is a convenient reason for using crutches, and also lets me show that someone can tailor their use of mobility aids to suit the circumstances, as she notes when she's about to be dragged out to a hillside:-
"My prosthetic lets me walk on level ground just fine. But for rough ground and for agility I prefer crutches, and for endurance a wheelchair."