Yearly Archives: 2017

Patient – Angela broke her toe

“In March of last year I fell and broke one of my toes. At the time it didn’t seem like a major medical trauma, but when I went to the hospital the doctors made the decision to completely amputate the toe.

[huge_it_video_player id=”2″]

To this day I don’t understand why they did so, but to make matters worse, the wound became infected and the infection began to spread up my leg in the first week. In an attempt to cure the infection I was sent to a different Hospital. It was there that those new doctors decided that the infection was so sever that they would have to amputate the entire leg to save my life. After that I was confined to the hospital for an additional month to recuperate.

At first, after I finally left the hospital, I was very depressed and sad. As I slowly began to recover, little by little, I also began to regain some of my normal happiness. However, my life was still extremely difficult as you can imagine. I couldn’t work and as my husband had passed away years ago, I had to rely on my children and grandchildren to support me. Unfortunately they don’t have very much money either and so I felt so guilty every day that I couldn’t work to help to feed, and care for, and support the family. It was also very difficult to play with my younger grandchildren who are the light of my life. I feel that I have missed out on vital part of my relationship with them.

Now that I can walk again with this new leg, my most important goal is to be able to start working again and help my family who was there for me during this terrible time. I collect materials for recycling which I then sell and it is the only thing that I know how to do. I also want to spend more time playing with my grandchildren.

Thank you, Angela”

If you would like to help more Bolivian amputees like this one, then please donate now.

Patient – Charles crashed his motorcycle

“I lost my leg in a motor cycle accident last year. I was riding to a friend’s house when a car crashed into me head-on. My foot was completely crushed.

[huge_it_video_player id=”2″]

The ambulance arrived quickly and took me to the trauma clinic where they tried to fix my foot by holding the bones together with wire, but it didn’t work. The doctors told me that my leg would have to be amputated but they were concerned that it wouldn’t heal well in the area where I lived so they told me that I would have to travel to the capital, La Paz, for the operation. It turned out that I had to have two operations at the end of December, one to perform the amputation and the other to perform cleaning on the amputation because the scar had not healed correctly.

After the loss of my leg, I couldn’t do anything for myself. I couldn’t go to my English teaching job because I couldn’t even get out of bed. This meant that I had no money at all as all my previous savings had gone to pay for my medical treatment. I ended up coming to live with my daughter and she cared for me and helped me to survive.

I found out about this prosthetic clinic by one of the staff members at the hospital

Now that I have received my prosthetic leg and I can walk again, my first priority is to return to work so that I can pay back my daughter as she has been providing everything for me while I have been enduring this disaster. I want to feel independent again and not rely on my family and friends anymore. I feel that this leg has given me a new life.

Thank you, Charles”

If you would like to help more Bolivian amputees like this one, then please donate now.

Patient – Luis the student

Imagine…
… being a young, healthy teenage student, pursuing classes in a career that excites you;
….how devastated you’d feel if you were suddenly informed that one of your legs will be amputated before you’ve even reached 20 years of age;
…how drastically your life would change in every way possible.

Luis was a 19-year-old student who was very excited about pursuing a career as a mechanic. Attending school filled Luis with a sense of hope, pride and joy.

However, Luis started having issues with his leg, and he went to the doctor to find out what was wrong. Luis told the doctor that his leg had been bothering him for awhile. After several tests, Luis was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma can be very painful, as it causes one’s bones to become very brittle. Even a minor fall or bump can cause a fracture. It is very likely that Luis’ leg pain stemmed from an incident that was not even memorable. Sadly, the doctors were forced to amputate Luis’ leg so that the cancer wouldn’t spread to the rest of his body.

Luis lost his leg in September 2016, and he spent nine months in the hospital. His hospital stay was very lonely and isolating. He had a few visitors, but generally he was alone for nine months in a hospital far away from his home.

Luis’ life was turned upside down after his leg was amputated. He felt lost without his independence and dignity, and he slipped into a deep, dark depression. Due to his limited mobility, he never went out to see friends, and it was very hard to perform any chores around the house. Worse yet, Luis was unable to return to school, and he had to drop out of his certification program to be a mechanic. He felt sad and totally isolated from all that had previously brought him hope and happiness.

And then, one day, luck was finally on Luis’ side. Word reached Luis about the great work we’re doing in Bolivia for low-income amputees. As soon as he learned of our clinic’s success stories, Luis worked hard to reach our doorstep. Luis knew at his core that a new leg would be the only way to regain his independence and freedom to pursue his ambitions.

Luis’ new leg enabled him walk again and resume a productive life. He is also very eager to return to school, find a job, and follow a path full of promise as a skilled, licensed mechanic. With great pride, Luis told us that he simply wants to contribute to society, pay his bills, start a family and walk freely–on two legs–in the direction of his dreams.

In Luis’ own words: “Thank you for your generous donations over the years. Without your dedicated and continued support I would not be able to walk today. God Bless You. Luis”

You can see Luis learning how to use his new leg here:

[huge_it_video_player id=”1″]

If you would like to help more Bolivian amputees like this one, then please donate now.

Patient – Edwin was hit by a bus

One horrible day Edwin was about to drive his mother home from a party when her hat blew off into the street. Edwin ran into the street to retrieve the hat, and he was hit by a bus. Tragically, the bus crushed one of Edwin’s arms and one of his legs beyond repair. 

Edwin was in ICU for 3 weeks after an above-knee amputation. When Edwin realized his leg had been amputated, he was so upset that he broke everything around him in the hospital. During his hospital stay, Edwin was also diagnosed with Leukemia, epilepsy and diabetes. The latter two are often complications of Leukemia. In addition, Edwin’s family broke apart and his wife left him –which is a somewhat common outcome for amputees.

After his hospital release, Edwin and his children lived with his mother since he was unable to support his impoverished family. This sad situation continued to spiral downwards rapidly. The entire family developed leukemia and Edwin’s youngest daughter eventually died.

In order to raise from his depths of despair, Edwin attended a huge disability rally in La Paz last June. Along with thousands of other protesters, Edwin was there to demand medical support from the government. (see previous story about this protest HERE)

At the rally, Edwin met a former patient who had been helped at the Bolivian prosthetic center. That patient told him about the center’s great work, and Edwin made an appointment immediately. Edwin felt very skeptical about what could be done for him, given all of his other medical complications. His doubts immediately disappeared! After practicing for two weeks in the PPAM aid (See previous PPAM story HERE), Edwin was able to walk two lengths of parallel bars which took him almost five minutes. After four weeks, Edwin was able to walk on his new leg for 40 minutes in the PPAM (aided by his crutches).

Once he had the prosthesis, Edwin’s first goal was to ride the new cable car system that traverses the city 100 feet above the rooftops. The clinic staff took him to the top of La Paz during the first days that Edwin felt strong enough to go outside on his prosthesis. Edwin was a new man! He vowed to get back to work, help his daughter, and pursue his dreams with two legs.