|
|
|
| Thu, Nov. 12 - - Mobile - RSS | |
|
|
Support offered for amputees
Local amputees to start a support group in FredericksburgDate published: 3/7/2004
Local prosthetist Greg Wright told members of his new amputee support group he will take them skydiving, roller skating, swimming or running if that's what they want to do. Wright is aiming to "show the amputee population the amazing ability of an amputee as opposed to the disability" through the newly formed Fredericksburg Area Amputee Support Team. FAAST is Wright's second attempt to get amputees together. This time it will be successful, Wright said, because people are attending the meetings and seem more dedicated to the group. He's tried so hard to get a group going because a lot of people through the years have come to him about it. "It was calling me. I couldn't not do it; it was becoming my mission," Wright said. In his 14 years as a prosthetist, Wright has been astounded at how easily amputees bounce back from their losses to do things they did before the amputation, things like ride a motorcycle. The key is maintaining a positive attitude, said Wright, who in his own work with amputees tries to keep clients from thinking about their lost limb. "I could build a bionic leg, but you won't walk on it if you don't want to," Wright said. "You could walk on a bucket and a broomstick." Wright hopes the group will be a referral resource for doctors and an inspiration to new amputees. While an amputee patient is still in the hospital, FAAST will send one of its members with similar injuries to talk to him or her. This summer, members of the group will be certified as peer counselors. Every new amputee who has spoken to a more experienced amputee comes out of the hospital more positive about his future and more likely to walk again or do the things he wants. Before FAAST, the closest amputee support groups were in Richmond and Northern Virginia. Wright estimates that amputees in the area number in the hundreds. Most have lost a limb to peripheral vascular disease, or poor circulation, and injuries that don't heal because of diabetes. Right now, the group consists only of lower-body amputees, but all are welcome.
Date published: 3/7/2004
|
 |
|||
|
|||
