A principal's perspective on LIMBS June 22.12

Sue Wilson, an elementary principal from Longview, Texas, traveled with LIMBS International as part of our Learning for LIMBS program.

Here is her story.

The trip to the Dominican Republic has been one of learning about LIMBS International, the people of the country, the altruistic work of ILAC Mission and the beauty of people everywhere. While the country is beautiful, poverty is everywhere and there is so much need.  On the first day of our stay, we visited a hospital and I was astounded by the number of people needing medical care and the mass chaos of the hospital.  People were going to and fro and it seemed no one was in control, however, Riccardo Gonzales and Trevor Bergman made a positive connection with the Administrator for the Prosthetic Department in an effort to continue their working relationship.  LIMBS fitted two gentlemen with knees today. 

One man was in his mid 40´s and was once a roofer.  He fell on the job and broke his ankle and since he was diabetic and the ankle never healed, the infected leg had to be amputated. He cannot find a construction job and tried selling fruit on the street but they shut him down because he did not have a permit.  The permit is $200.00 and he is not able to afford that, so there is a ´ripple effect´ when these injuries occur. 

The second young man was 35 and lost his leg when he was just 9 years old.  He was using a machete in the field and cut his leg.  Again the leg got infected and he lost his leg almost up to the hip.  He has had an artificial leg for the past 16 years but it was wooden, heavy and too short.  Riccardo and the prosthetist here, Ranvier fitted him with a new light weight knee and you should have seen the look on his face.  He put his hands in the air as if he had just won the Olympics and was smiling from ear to ear.  He is a barber by trade and had a fabulous spirit and wonderful attitude.  His smile was wonderful.  Monday is a day I will never forget.

Father Bill, the priest at the mission, ILAC Mission, has a true giving heart and a wonderful new friend. He is down to earth and has connections with his neighborhood and the people here.  What a tremendous partnership LIMBS has with this man of God and ILAC Mission.  He states we are all made in the image and likeness of God and we are very good (Genesis 1 31).  His campaign is Show Your Goodness.

On Tuesday, the team worked at the ILAC Mission satellite prosthetic lab refining parts, refitting and adjusting existing knees and making further connections. Two patients were seen and cared for by the team.  So much of LIMBS success is through building relationships with the hospitals, administrators and the people.

Wednesday, we traveled to the capital city Santo Domingo to visit a hospital there. The director of the prosthetic lab and the men who make the artificial knees were impressed with the LIMBS knee.  At first they were all skeptical but as they examined the knee, saw it our patient Ramon, their attitudes went from an attitude of why are we here, to absolute joy to, when can we get this!  They were impressed with the knee and know they can help more people because of cost and quality of the LIMBS Knee. The city was full of history and as beautiful and complex as the people.

Thursday, is our last full day in the Dominican Republic and at the Mission ILAC.  Because of the partnerships of the mission, hospitals, people and prosthetic technicians, this has been a trip full of awesome experiences.  Although work at the mobile prosthetic lab continues today, I am filled with bitter sweet emotions as I know we will leave this country tomorrow morning.  A country filled with abundant beauty and tremendous need. 

Sue Wilson, Principal Hudson PEP, Longview ISD, Longview, Texas

LIMBS INTERNATIONAL RETURNES TO LA PAZ BOLIVIA (MAY 23.12)

On March 31to April 14, 2012 the LIMBS International team returned to La Paz Bolivia for a follow up visit with its partnership the Rotary International chapter of El Rotary club La Paz San Pedro. 

The new location of their Prosthetic clinic “Centro de Miembros Atificiales” was the main focus of our trip. We were accompanied by new volunteers Mr. Andrew Reimer, C.P. a certified Prosthetist from Canada and Mr. Carlos Guaman, a Bolivian Prosthetist from Cochabamba, Bolivia and Dr. Jennifer Lucarveric, a physical therapist from California. We also had the talents of a film crew from Biola University in California and Ms. Angela Klempner, a professional photographer from Boston, Massachusetts. We saw a total of 39 patients for clinical follow-ups and 12 new patients. Of the 12 new patients we were able to deliver three completed new prosthesis with our LIMBS Knee. Dr. Lucarveric instructed four visiting Bolivian physical therapist in advance gait training and pre prosthetic management of amputees. The film crew and photographer recorded a soccer match between the patients and the LIMBS staff definitely a high light of the trip.

Centro de Miembros Artificiales (CMA) is a prosthetic center dedicated to manufacturing the highest quality prosthetic limbs that can be made in Bolivia using locally available materials as well as local technicians and then providing those prosthetics to any and all low income Bolivians at a very low or zero cost.  CMA is located in the capital city, La Paz, in Bolivia.  You can find more information about this center and how you can support them on their web site: www.rotaryboliviaprosthetics.org, or following them on twitter: twitter.com/#!/mattslegs

Breaking Stigma in Kenya

The LIMBS Polycentric Knee can revolutionize lives, both of the amputee and those around them.

In Primary school, many Kenyan children are taught that offspring come from the knees. Therefore, anyone who loses their leg above the knee cannot have children.  This belief continues on into adulthood. So not only does an above-knee (AK) amputee have to deal with his or her new limits in mobility, they also struggle psychologically and emotionally when people do not want to date, marry, and stay married to them because the Kenyan public believe that chances of having a child with an AK amputee are slim to none.

Also, it is expected that once someone has an amputation, they will have to rely on those around them for the rest of their lives and be a continual burden to their families.

LIMBS International is helping change all that. By providing above-knee amputees with a fully functioning low-cost polycentric knee, we give AK amputees a second chance at life. Peter and Victor were two of our first amputees to wear the LIMBS Knee. Both have risen above their “disabilities” and now lead relatively normal Kenyan lives.

Peter Mbuvi

Peter lives in the Eastern Province of Kenya. He is married to his beautiful wife, Rebecca, and they have a very intelligent one and a half year old boy, Kelvin, who constantly tries to “fix” his father’s knee.  Peter is currently working as a temporary casual worker for the government, but hopes to soon start his own business to raise money to send his wife to college. He already holds several college certificates and he wants to give that opportunity to his wife as well.

Victor Rimba

Victor lives in the Coast Province of Kenya. He is also married to a beautiful woman, Linet. This past November, they celebrated the birth of their first born son, Vincent. Victor works as a grounds man to support his growing family.

Jahangir's Story

Mr. Jahangir is a 41 year old man with a right leg amputation. He is married and has a seven year old daughter. Ten years ago, while working in Dhaka as a covered truck driver, he was involved in a traffic accident that crushed his right leg. As is often the case in Bangladesh, he did not receive appropriate medical treatment, and his leg continued to deteriorate.   

After a few days, the leg was so far gone that the doctor recommended Mr Jahangir’s right leg be amputated. Relying on financial support from his relatives, he was able to have this life saving surgery. Following his release from hospital, Mr Jahangir returned home where he sunk into depression. He mourned the loss of his leg and did not want to be around anyone, even his own family. He worried how he would provide for his family and how he would be viewed by society.

In 2002, Mr Jahangir received a cash settlement from his former company to compensate him for the loss of his leg. He used this money to return to school to learn how to become a tailor. After completing this training, he started his own tailoring shop with training facilities for garment workers. Mr Jahangir began to use crutches to move around his shop, but he was still limited as it required the use of both arms. 

In 2011 Mr. Jahangir decided that he wanted to use an artificial limb for easier movement and to increase his work capacity. He applied to the CDD artificial limb center, and was fitted with the LIMBS Knee. His increased mobility has resulted in an expansion of his shop and he has even begun hiring workers to keep up with his orders. His LIMBS Knee allows him to do more, both at work and in other areas of his life. His arms are now free for carrying items at work, as he does not need to use crutches.

His family has also noticed a positive change outlook on life and how much more happy he is. He can now interact with his friends and neighbors without the fear of isolation or stigma. He is very grateful of the work of CDD and the mobility that has been provided through the LIMBS Knee.

December 28, 2011 - Bolivian LIMBS Patient interviewed for Guardian Article

Happy Holidays from LIMBS International! We hope you have had a healthy and happy holiday season.

Recently, one of our patients from Bolvia was interviewed by the Guardian, a newspaper in the United Kingdom. The article is titled: Global development voices: Living with disabilities. Our patient Teddy was interviewed, and while neither our partnering clinic or our knee is mentioned explicitly, we can ensure you that Teddy is one of our happy Bolivian patients wearing the LIMBS Knee. You can view the entire article in its entirety here, or read the entire interview with Teddy below.

We couldn't be more excited with the progress our partners in La Paz have made in under one year. They have locally produced 50 LIMBS Knees for patients, and have fit over 30 patients in that time. They have been interviewed 4 times by local Bolivian media outlets, as excitement and awareness of the LIMBS Knee grows in Bolivia. They have shown great passion and drive towards fitting the destitute amputees of their country with high-quality, low-cost prostheses utilizing the LIMBS Knee, and we cannot wait to see what great steps they take forward in 2012.

The following excerpt is from the Guardian:

Teddy Hotto Quispe Velasco, 37, lives in El Alto, Bolivia

I just wanted to die after I had my amputation. I was hit by a speeding bus. Surgery couldn't restore mobility to my right foot, and then my leg got infected and had to be amputated. I had to walk with crutches, and suffered discrimination, even from my own family. They pushed me aside. I cried a lot, and even my children cried at the beginning. But I'm much happier now, after I got a prosthetic leg. People can't tell that I have a fake limb. I can walk normally, like before. And I got a job at a French bakery. They are even trying to check how I drive so that I can make deliveries. If I hadn't got a new leg, I don't think my life would have improved. It's difficult to live in Bolivia if you have a disability.

What steps are being taken in your country to improve the lives of disabled people? What policy or activity would you like to see your country introduce?

I wish the government would give financial help to disabled people, because they suffer a lot. People treat you differently. Even the way they look at you is different. They don't tell you straight to your face, but they don't want to get near you. After my leg was amputated, I suffered a lot of discrimination. I don't know what I would have done if it hadn't been for a lot of the support I got from some people, and the help I got from the Rotary Club, which gave me a free prosthetic limb.

What should the international community do to help improve the lives of disabled people in your country?

I can understand what they go through now. I'm not well-informed, but countries with more money should help Bolivia. And organisations like the Rotary Club should also help where the government can't. People with disabilities should get help, because they can't go to work. For example, buses don't stop for you if they see that you're an amputee, because they think you're going to take up more room with your crutches.

February 17, 2012 - New Patient Update - Mutuka Matisya

Patient Update from AIC-CURE in Kenya:

Mutuka was just 13 years old when his left leg began to hurt. By May 2011, he was no longer able to walk or play soccer with his friends. In July 2011, he was diagnosed with bone cancer and doctors decided to amputate his leg. For two months he was unable to attend school. Once he regained the necessary strength to continue his education, he had to transfer to a boarding school far away from his family that accommodated his new challenges as an amputee. His limited mobility left him bored and lonely at school. He could no longer play football and his younger brothers and sisters were far away.

In February 2012, Mutuka’s life made a change for the better when he was fitted a new prosthetic limb, which included the LIMBS Knee. After gaining confidence on the knee, he was able to run and play with other children at the boarding school. Since being fitted, he has made many new friends, no longer the lonely boy he once was. He is excited to continue his education, and spend whatever time he can with his family, showing off his new agility.

-Elizabeth Flow

LIMBS International Fellow

November 14, 2011 - El Paso Recap

Last week I was in El Paso as I was selected to be the 2011 Outstanding Ex for my high school, Austin. It was an honor to celebrate homecoming with them, as it was 30 years ago that I graduated from Austin High. I also spent two days at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), my undergraduate alma mater. It was great to reconnect with UTEP engineering faculty and see all the tremendous changes that have occurred at UTEP since I graduated in 1986, 25 years ago. During my visit I had the privilege to share about our LIMBS work. I look forward to beginning to collaborate with UTEP’s college of engineering to co-develop technology to help the most needy amputees in the world. We also held a LIMBS gathering event and had the opportunity to share our work with a variety of family and friends, old and new, how LIMBS is changing lives.

Dr. Roger Gonzalez

November 18, 2011 - LIMBS Fellow Leads Meeting on Knee Assessment in Kenya

Last week, I had the opportunity to lead the LIMBS Committee in Kenya in an ongoing discussion regarding the evaluation procedure of the LIMBS M1 polycentric knee. The evaluation will involve 15 volunteer above-knee amputees being fitted with the knee. These individuals will fill out questionnaires and provide LIMBS and our partnering clinicians feedback on how the knee performs in the field. The whole evaluation should be completed in six months. Kenya was the first location to use the LIMBS Knee and this evaluation continues to build the relationship. The evaluation is the FIRST STEP towards getting the "Kenyan Certification" for the LIMBS Knee, which would make it the official prosthetic knee joint of the Kenyan government. While that is a long way down the road, we are excited about the opportunity, and look forward to the upcoming evaluations.

-Elizabeth Flow

LIMBS Kenya Fellow

October 31, 2011 - LIMBS Attends Nation-wide conference in Bangladesh

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a National Conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The purpose of the conference was to provide a place for individuals involved in various initiatives from around the country to meet, share stories, encourage each other, and receive training for their community work. I was invited to speak to 500 attendees and propose our growing LIMBS initiatives in Bangladesh. Our goal was to make these friends of LIMBS aware of our LIMBS knee, and the clinics that we have partnered with that are providing fitting for amputees. They will be able to use their current community networks to find patients in need of a prosthesis, transport them to the nearest LIMBS partner clinic, and provide follow-up support and relationship building. The community is very excited about this program, and is looking forward to implementing it throughout the country.

Trevor Bergman

Director of Administrative Operations

October 4, 2011 - LIMBS Fellow arrives in Kenya

I arrived in Kenya at the beginning of September to work as the eyes and ears of LIMBS International for a year. All travels went smoothly and God has been showing Himself in amazing ways, such as my entire luggage making it to Kenya on my flight.

During the coming year I hope to improve communications between the work being done in Kenya and the United States. Also, I will be running an assessment of the LIMBS knee with several other organizations working with disabilities in Kenya. This assessment will show the superiority of our knee and provide widespread exposure of the knee throughout Kenya. My base of operations is the new Prosthetic and Orthopedic department building in Kijabe at AIC-CURE international Children’s Hospital. You can find out more about this hospital and organization at: www.cureinternational.org.

So far I have been preparing for the knee assessment. This has helped me grow professionally in my problem-solving and management skill.  I worked with Anthony, one of the Prosthetists at CURE, to make new posterior links for 19 knees in less than 2 days. Anthony is a hard worker and an encouragement to work with at CURE. He is always looking to further his knowledge which makes him a wonderful teammate.  The picture accompanying this post is Anthony and I standing in front of LIMBS Knees at the new P & O workshop at AIC-CURE.

Elizabeth Flow

LIMBS Fellow in Kenya

October 15, 2011 - LIMBS Engineering Ops Update

This week a new prototype of the LIMBS Foot is being tested at a research facility in Dallas. The results of this test will provide a clear view on the direction that the design of the LIMBS Foot will take. This foot has been designed in accordance with the LIMBS mission and commitment to good bio-mechanical performance, low cost, and local sustainability in the developing world.

September 29, 2011 - Kicking off the Learning for LIMBS Initiative!

The Learning for LIMBS initiative is getting off the ground this week with our first presentation at the Student Leadership Conference held at Letourneau University. This conference is put on by Longview ISD and is open to schools throughout East Texas. I will be introducing our Learning for LIMBS program to all the students who are in attendance.

 The program is designed to give students the opportunity to partner with LIMBS International by raising funds to support our work throughout the developing world. The students set academic achievement goals such as a certain score on their SAT or a particular grade in a subject. They then approach friends, family, and local businesses to partner with them in their goal through sponsorship. When the student meets their goal they collect the funds and send them to LIMBS International. Our goal is to not only raise support for our work, but to also promote student achievement at every grade level. For more information regarding this program please contact me at tbergman@limbsinternational.org. You can also follow the progress of the program on our Facebook Causes page at:

http://www.causes.com/causes/630088-support-longview-isd-students-provide-prosthetic-limbs-to-amputees# 

Trevor Bergman

Director of Administrative Operations

Socket Research in Bolivia

Meagan Vaughan, LIMBS Research Associate and PhD student at The University of Texas at Austin, is currently in the middle of a weeklong visit to Centro de Miembros Artificiales in La Paz, Bolivia. The purpose of this visit is to continue her work on a low-cost, volume adjustable prosthetic socket that, based on interviews with patients and staff at CMA, is greatly needed. 

Her PhD work is dedicated to developing volume-adjusted prostheses for amputees. An important socket fit is paramount to the walking ability and comfort of amputees, since it holds a patients residual limb.  Ms. Vaughan has been dedicated to serving the amputee population since her undergraduate work on the LIMBS student teams.

Much of her visit has focused on interviewing patients and staff about the needs of their amputee population. Of the nine patients interview so far, three patients were receiving prosthesis for the first time. But of those with existing prosthetic limbs, all were at the clinic to have their socket replaced (and sometimes the whole prosthesis as well) due to it becoming too loose or too tight. All of the patients interviewed said that they would like to have a volume adjustable socket.

This trip has helped to show how important maintaining proper socket fit is to the amputees interviewed and how difficult it is for them, currently, to do so. Many patients have stuffed their socket full of homemade socks in an attempt to fill the void between their residuum and their socket. One patient had to add as much as a half-inch layer of material around their residuum. Another amputee mentioned that, due to the volume loss, they were forced to add a wedge to the bottom of their prosthetic foot to help maintain alignment as their socket was starting to rock back and forth.

Meagan hopes the development of a low-cost volume-adjustable socket will greatly impact the amputee population. It is our hope that in our continuing work with Meagan, she will be able to develop a socket that will be part of a full low-cost prostheses which would also include the LIMBS Knee.

It’s been a productive trip and excitement is building, as we’re getting ever closer to a viable volume adjustable socket concept!

LIMBS DR Trip

The LIMBS International staff recently completed a Technology Certification Workshop (TCW) in the Dominican Republic (DR). Our partner clinic in the DR had two individuals who received training from the LIMBS staff over the course of the week. Prior to the arrival of the LIMBS team in the DR, LIMBS' partnering organization in the DR had already received a shipping container with all of the supplies and hardware necessary to produce the LIMBS Knee. Material acquisition is one of the greatest challenges for some of our partnering organizations around the globe. We could not be happier that our partners have taken it upon themselves and acquired all the necessary materials, they have continued fabricating knees since the LIMBS team departed. 

During our time in the Dominican Republic, two individuals were fitted with the LIMBS Knee. Read more about their stories in the Patient Profiles section. Along with some of our initial work into Haiti, LIMBS International is thrilled to begin to make a difference in the Caribbean by partnering with an organization in the Dominican Republic. We hope that they can begin to work in conjunction with our Haitian partners to continue to make a difference in the areas which were struck by the devastating earthquake in the winter of 2010.