The Given Limb Foundation has developed a prototype repair kit for mechanical repairs on prosthetic arms.  The kit includes tools such as small precision screwdrivers (philips head and flat head), iris scissors, a hex set, tweezers, and a rubber band applicator.  Some with prosthetic arms have indicated that they often have to make minor repairs or adjustments to their arms, and that a small, self-contained kit for travel or home use would be helpful to them.  We would like feedback from others about this concept–would it be helpful, what should it contain, etc.

When a loved one faces an amputation, whether as a result of a war injury, illness, or other accident, the entire family embarks on an emotional journey.  Everyone’s primary concern is the health and welfare of amputee, but family members and spouses often make huge emotional, financial, and personal sacrifices to care for and support their loved one during recovery, and sometimes for the rest of their lives.  Information and guidance about local support networks may be hard to find.  Injured service men and women, in particular, may face a letdown of sorts when they return home from Walter Reed, where they received the best of care and had a support network of peers facing the same issues.  Once home, while they may have a closer network of family members, they also face the demands of home life without the constant interaction with peers and professionals who understand their issues.  This can put even more pressure on family caregivers.

There are probably many people across the country who have had similar experiences and faced similar problems in caring for loved ones who have had amputations.  There is undoubtably much valuable advice that could be shared if there were an easy way for caregivers and family members to communicate.

This blog could serve as a tool to enable this type of communication.  What problems have you faced as a caregiver?  What resources have been particularly helpful?  Are there topics we could cover in this blog that would be helpful to you as a caregiver?

Cody McCasland was born with multiple birth defects, and had both legs amputated above the knee when he was just a baby.  His care, and his multiple prosthetic limbs, have been provided by the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC), which will continue to provide him with prosthetic legs until he is 18. He has become a remarkable role model and spokesperson for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) and continues to raise money through Team Cody to support both the CAF and TSRHC. To watch the Dateline NBC story about Cody, click here.

While TSRHC provides care to Texas children, and has supported Cody by providing his expensive prosthetic legs at no charge, not every child amputee has access to the same quality of care.  A child without arms or legs needs multiple prosthetics. Not only do they outgrow their prosthetics, but different prosthetics are required for different purposes.  Cody has walking legs as well as running legs.  How do other children with similar issues get the prosthetic limbs and the care they need?  Do most medical insurance plans cover the cost of new prosthetic limbs as a child grows? Are there agencies or foundations that help young amputees with these costs, and with the myriad of issues these children face?

Welcome to the Given Limb Foundation Blog!  We hope this blog will provide amputees and their caregivers a forum for discussing the problems they face everyday, and for sharing ideas and information to help address unmet needs and improve their quality of life.  We welcome and encourage your comments as well as your suggestions for new topics.