Category Archives: Patients

Justo Accidentally Slashes Open His Foot

Category:Patients

Our monthly “patient-in-focus” story is about a recent low-income amputee. Justo is now walking again due to the work of our Bolivian partner, and another grant from Bolivians Without disAbilities. Many patients are like Justo – going about their daily lives until tragedy strikes. Here is Justo’s story:

The Accident Happened

“I used to work as a window glazier in a small glass company. I am a very careful worker, but one day I slashed my left foot on a fragment of glass. Unfortunately, I feared that if I left work to visit a doctor that I would risk losing my job. It was possible that someone else who could work the whole day would take it. So I hastily bandaged my foot and continued with my work. But over the course of the next year, the wound did not heal despite my best efforts to clean it and re-dress the bandage regularly.

They Took My Leg

A friend of mine who is a doctor took a look at my foot. He shook his head and explained how badly infected my entire leg was with gangrene. He urged me to go to the hospital because he was convinced that I should get my leg amputated. When I heard this I became severely depressed. Here in Bolivia losing a leg is almost always a sure way to lose your livelihood. I wanted to die rather than lose my leg and my only means to support my wife and children. My family had to convince me to have the surgery.

We didn’t have the money to pay the medical bills from the larger, safer hospitals in the capital so I first went to a cheaper local hospital. After 3 days in this hospital, having not been seen by any doctors and with many of the other patients around me dying, my condition continued to worsen. My wife took me to another hospital and proclaimed, “I don’t care how much it costs, please just save my husband.” In this second hospital, I was seen by doctors who confirmed that I needed an amputation of my left leg since the gangrene was very advanced.

I had to undergo a series of three operations. The first was below the knee. After the surgery it was determined that not all of the infection had been cut off. So I needed a second surgery. And then a third before the doctors were fully satisfied that the infection had been removed. Each time they had cut higher and higher. By the end they had removed my leg to a point above my knee. I thought about killing myself, but I knew that I couldn’t leave my wife and son alone, and so I continued on.

My Life Savings Were Exhausted

After I got out of the hospital everything changed for me and my family. For the first month after my operation, while I was still recovering in hospital, my family and friends would visit me frequently. Friends initially brought gifts of food, however, after a month, this support dwindled and my family and I found ourselves alone. Since I was unable to provide an income to support us our money quickly ran out.

When I was finally healed enough I found another job as a window glazier, but I was unable to undertake the work alone. My wife and young son had to accompany me to work every day. They had to do much of the heavy lifting and ensure that I didn’t fall over or have any other accidents at work. Even though the company was only paying for one person, they didn’t like this arrangement and I was let go again.

I Am Hopeful For My Future

Now that I have received a new prosthetic limb and I can walk again, I plan to find a new job. My young son to return to school. I will pay off my remaining medical bills, and I will support my family again. I am very hopeful for my future.

Thank you.
Justo”

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

Javier’s Leg Shattered In Hit-And-Run

Category:Patients

Below you will read our monthly “patient-in-focus” story. It’s about a recent low-income amputee who is now walking with a prosthetic leg due to the work by our partner, and another grant from Bolivians Without disAbilities. Many patients are like Javier. They go about their daily lives when tragedy strikes.

Here is Javier’s story

“I was a highway construction worker until one day in November 2015. I was on a job site, alone at the moment while working on the main highway between La Paz and Oruro.  While walking along the motorway and inspecting the previous day’s work, a car sped towards me. It seemed oblivious that I was there on the side of the road. But the car slammed into me nonetheless, tossing my body and crushing my leg.

The driver then raced away in his damaged car, leaving me there on the motorway. I was completely alone. I was found after some hours and taken to a small local medical clinic, but they realized that they did not have the ability to treat such traumatic wounds as mine. So, hours later I was taken to a larger hospital in a nearby city. A traumatologist came to examine me after a delay that seemed like an eternity. His conclusion was that only an amputation would save my life. So, they took my leg off above the knee. I spent 3 months in the hospital recuperating after that.”

Life without a leg

“Life without my leg was a huge change and a monumental challenge. The nurses at the hospital helped me to find ways to look after myself so that I was not totally dependent on my sons for help, such as: washing myself and cooking.”

“I returned home, financially ruined. I had lost my job. It was the only way I knew how to earn a living; and, my life savings had been exhausted by hospital bills. I had no choice but to try to continue my life as best that I could; I had to try and figure out how to take care of my sons. They couldn’t be let down.”

“I felt completely useless because I could not work. This was a very depressing fact after being such a self-sufficient man all of my life. This operation and subsequent difficult years, for my sons, were really a lesson in growing up. Their mother had passed away years before and now that I could not work, they had to work to support the family.”

Javier Makes His Own Prosthetic leg

“This made me determined to have a prosthetic leg. It would mean that I could walk, find work, provide for my boys, and hold my head high again. Some years after the operation, still hobbled on crutches, I decided to invent and build my own prosthetic leg. I have always been very mechanically inclined; A friend helped me search the internet for ideas. I began making my own prosthesis with scraps of metals and materials which I found discarded around my neighborhood. My first leg took me 3 months to make. That one did not last very long since it was my first attempt, so I tried again. My second one was far better, with a spring-loaded knee; it took only a few days. However, this second prosthesis became very painful after extensive use.”

“Luckily, this year I found out about the free prosthetic center, FUNPROBO, in La Paz. I fully expect to be able to return to work with the new prosthetic provided by FUNPROBO, unlike with my old homemade leg, which could only help me when I was in the house. This will relieve me of the economic dependence on my young sons. It will also mean my sons will be able to continue their education. Being able to walk again, without pain and outside the home, has lifted my spirits and my hopes and dreams for the future.”

“Thank You”, Javier.
(Javier received his prosthetic leg due to a grant from Bolivians Without disAbilities).

See how many other amputees have been helped by Bolivians Without disAbilities

 

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

Patient – Alfredo was hit by a train

Category:Patients

Alfredo has received a prosthetic leg from our partner, FUNPROBO, in May 2017, and this is the story he told us:

“It was 1:30 in the afternoon in early August 2004 and I was working next to some train tracks. I needed to go to the bathroom, which was on the other side of the tracks, and as I stepped onto them, I suddenly noticed that a train was speeding towards me. I hadn’t seen the train at first because of all the little shacks and vendors which line the tracks. It is always a very dangerous situation and location but it is the only life that people know.”

“I tried to escape, however, the train was approaching too fast, I stumbled, and my leg was trapped under it. Thankfully the train stopped and the driver, along with some of my neighbors, came to my aid. I was in agonizing pain. My wife, son and one of the neighbors took me to the hospital as soon as they could. Unfortunately, in order to save me, they amputated my leg since it had been crushed and there was no hope to ever be able to use it again. A week later, another operation was performed to clean and remove an infection that had begun in my wound. This required me to stay in the hospital another 20 days to recuperate and rest, but this drained what little savings I had.”

“My entire life I have been very active. I was made to be moving, not glued to a bed. For the first month, the accident made me very depressed, but then I decided do something about it after I got out of the hospital. I couldn’t afford to buy a prosthetic leg, so I decided to make my own from any materials I could find, such as scrap metal, plastic and wood. Although very basic, this leg allowed me to return to work and start my life again. Since the amputation, I have made 3 or 4 different prosthetics. Over time, I was able to resume a lot of my normal activities, including organizing a football team and championship where I live in the countryside and participating in the folkloric traditions of my town, playing instruments and even dancing Tinku. These activities keep me going in life. However, my homemade prosthetics have never been anything but uncomfortable for me, so I was extremely excited when I heard about the opportunity to have a real prosthetic made for me at FUNPROBO.”

“With my new leg, I will no longer be in constant pain, as I have been for nearly 13 years. I am ready to move forward with more force and life especially for my children and family. Without the constantly falling with my current prosthetic, I will be able to participate more fully in the sporting and folkloric activities in my town, which I love. I want to be a role model for people with disabilities; to show them that they should not give up and that they too are allowed to have hope and strength.”

“Thank you FUNPROBO.

Alfredo”

See Alfredo dancing now: [huge_it_video_player id=”3″]

(Note, as always, this story was dictated by the patient and then translated into English). Every month your ongoing donations will give more amputees like Alfredo a new lease on life and an opportunity to regain their livelihood and happiness. 

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

Patient – Angelica Worked in the Mines

Category:Patients

Angelica received a prosthetic limb in 2017 and here is what she told us:

“My leg was amputated on October 21st 2016, but the full story begins months before that. I was an employee at a Silver Mine in Potosi.” (Historical note: Potosi was one of the richest cities in the world in the 1600’s due to the abundance of silver that was found there – and thousands of Bolivians still eke out a living there today toiling under dangerous conditions in the mining industry.)

“My job was to tend the machine that would melt silver, to make sure no one would come in during this process. I enjoyed my job and family life. Then one day I fell and fractured my femur just above the knee and had to go to the hospital where I had surgery to correct the bone. In most modern procedures, one would put a plate and screws into the bone to ensure it healed correctly. But due to a lack of resources, knowledge or skill, the doctors cut corners and decided that putting only screws in, without the plate, would be enough to heal the fractured bone. As you may guess, it didn’t solve the issue, but it caused me a great deal of pain. I wasn’t even able to move my knee following the surgery. After some time passed, the immobile knee and leg became increasingly painful.  I went back to the doctor who did the surgery and asked for help. This doctor was rather curt, rude and mean. He didn’t take the time to listen to my problems. So he insisted on forcing my knee to bend. Instead of helping me, he caused not only a second fracture, but also caused the screws to tear out of the bone and into the flesh. This caused my such significant pain that I required a private doctor’s visit. I have 3 children and a luxury like that was an absolute last resort.  But the pain was so awful I felt like I had no other option.“

“At this visit the doctor discovered a very large lump on my leg, but his office did not have the resources to be able to do a biopsy. He recommended that I go to a hospital in La Paz to seek further treatment. This private doctor even asked me “who did that last awful surgery to you???”.   I followed my second doctor’s instruction and traveled a long distance from Potosi to La Paz to have more tests completed. After a week an oncologist declared that it was a tumor and they would need to amputate the leg. Less intensive options were not given to me. I had no choice, the leg had to go to save my life. I had to keep on living for my children’s sake. “

My life changed dramatically from this loss. I have three children to support, no job and no husband since he died years ago. I have a lot of stress and concern to manage. In addition I now rely on my children’s help for almost everything. I rely on my oldest daughter to travel with me to help support me up and down steps. I am totally dependent on others as I am not able to independently interact with my community. I frequently get laughed at in the market due to my amputation. I have endured lot of physical and emotional pain from this injury, but I refuse to give up. I try to maintain a great deal of hope, and look forward to all the things I will be able to do again with my new limb.”

“My life changed dramatically from this loss. I have three children to support, no job and no husband since he died years ago. I have a lot of stress and concern to manage. In addition I now rely on my children’s help for almost everything. I rely on my oldest daughter to travel with me to help support me up and down steps. I am dependent on others help as I am not able to independently interact with my community. I frequently get laughed at in the market due to my amputation.  I have endured lot of physical and emotional pain from this injury, but I refuses to give up and I try to maintain a great deal of hope, and look forward to all the things I will be able to do again with my new limb.”

“I have two primary things that I look forward to doing. First I would like to get my dignity and self respect back by retaking my role as the primary caregiver of my household. Secondly I would like to increase my independence – I would like to return to working in the silver mines and earning money to support my family and all this will help me to put an end to the discrimination I feel every day as a helpless amputee”

“Thank You!”

                                       Angelica

(Note, as always, this story was translated into English).

Every month your ongoing donations will give ever more amputees like Angelica a new lease on life and an opportunity to regain their livelihood and happiness.  

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

Patient – Angela broke her toe

Category:Patients

“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

Category:Patients

“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

Category:Patients

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

Category:Patients

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.

 

Patient – Richard’s Botched Surgery

Category:Patients

When Richard was fifteen, he had a wound on his ankle that wouldn’t heal.  Richard’s father took him to the hospital where they opened the wound and found he had a cancerous tumor in his leg.  The doctors were too inexperienced to operate so they just left the wound open. Richard’s family was too poor to take him to another doctor, so he just waited to see if it improved. After three weeks, it was so severely infected that the doctors had to amputate Richard’s leg above the knee. Richard was then unable to attend school, and he felt felt terrible that he couldn’t work or help to support his family.

After seven years, Richard’s family found out about our partner’s prosthetic Center, FUNPROBO, in Bolivia. However, Richard had to wait until his father could save enough money for him to travel to La Paz for an examination at the Center.

Once he arrived, he met three other young people with above-knee amputations, and Richard’s persona changed immediately. Richard had not socialized with anyone outside his family for seven years, so he was rather shy, timid and unsure how to behave. Within five days, he and three other amputees, including two beautiful vibrant girls from Tarija and an ex-boxer/model from Cochabamba, Richard was a completely different young man. He cut his hair, purchased a few new clothes, went out for lunch, smiled, joked and laughed like he was getting his teenage years back. At the Center, as part of his physical therapy, Richard played volleyball (VIDEO), did obstacle courses, walked around the block for ice cream and sat in the sun. All of these activities helped Richard to get accustomed to his new prosthesis and to gain confidence on his own two legs. In fact, Richard had so much fun that he didn’t want to leave.

If you think that people like Richard deserve another chance at life, then their only hope is you. Please consider a(nother) donation here to help the ‘next’ Richard.

Patient – Juan was Badly Burned

Category:Patients

Juan, an active 41-year-old Bolivian man, worked very hard for 15 years and enjoyed his job as an electrician.  However, one day, while on the job, he got caught up in some live wires which sent huge voltage levels through his body. This tragic accident caused massive burns the full length of Juan’s right arm, up his right foot, up his left leg and blinded him in his right eye. Juan was rushed to the emergency department of the local hospital, but the tissue was so badly burned the doctors were unable to save any of the burned extremities; the physicians had no choice but to remove the limbs.

Juan was left with no right arm, only half of his right foot and a below- knee amputation of his left leg, leaving him unable to even stand without assistance. Juan had to move home as he was confined to a wheelchair and unable to do anything for himself, wash himself or do any daily activities independently.  Juan was completely unable to work, and he felt like a child again. Juan was forced to rely on his mother for all of his daily needs.  Although he was grateful to be alive, Juan felt extremely depressed and wondered about the point of living. As with many of these amputees, Juan contemplated suicide many times.

Years later, Juan discovered our partner, FUNPROBO, and he went for a first consultation in his wheelchair, accompanied by his parents.  Juan was full of expectations and also very anxious as he felt this was his only chance to get his life back. On the first day in the clinic, Juan was able to get up and walk using an innovative physical therapy aid which is an air-filled temporary prosthesis.  It was the first time he had walked in almost three years. Juan’s face lit up and suddenly you could see his self-esteem and optimism grow as he started to believe he could live again.

In less than a week he was fitted with his final below-knee prosthesis, and an orthosis for the other foot to allow him a stable base to be able to walk again. With this support, he was able to walk short distances assisted only by a cane. He left the clinic vowing to practice and to get back to his previous life.  This past November we contacted Juan again for a follow-up.  He is walking well—no pain, no problems, and his score on our quality-of-life index had vastly improved.

Juan is just one of the 50 amputees helped each year by FUNPROBO – and this can only happen with your donations.