'Limbs for Life' launches prosthetics work in Haiti

Feb 8, 2010 — The Daily Oklahoman

Carrie Coppernoll

Feb. 8, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- GUTHRIE -- Piles of manufactured body parts fill cardboard boxes at a warehouse outside Guthrie, waiting to be shipped to the needy in Haitis.

Craig Gavras picks up a leg and points to the metal knee and the plastic foot.

"All this can be used again," he said.

Haitians will use it again. This month Gavras will lead a team of technicians and volunteers to give prosthetics to Haitians who lost limbs in the Jan. 12 earthquake. This trip is the beginning of a partnership that will last for years.

"We all want to help instantly," he said. "But to help the amputees is going to be ongoing, even after all the pictures and stories of Haiti have gone away. There will still be thousands of amputees who need help."

Thousands to need legs

Gavras, who himself is an above-the-knee amputee on his right leg, co-founded Limbs for Life 15 years ago. The nonprofit outfits people in need around the world with prosthetics for free.

Limbs for Life has been established in the Dominican Republic for three years, Gavras said, and that will expedite the care of Haitians.

Gavras and 10 or 12 others will go on the first trip. They'll take about 100 knees and feet of all sizes. All the parts are donated. Some are from people who've outgrown their prosthetics; others are donated by families of the deceased. Businesses provide others.

Nearly everything can be fixed up and used again, Gavras said. Limbs are disassembled, cleaned and sorted. Parts are shipped to the clinics, where they're assembled into new combinations for patients there.

Gavras and his workers will set up a clinic in Barahona, a western Dominican village about 30 miles from a Haitian tent city near the border.

Aid agencies will transport patients from the tent city to the clinic and back.

Like the number of deaths, the estimated number of amputees varies wildly, Gavras said. Guesses range from 2,000 to 200,000. Gavras said he won't know the real situation until they arrive. But he knows it's bad.

"The numbers are so big you know you're not going to be able to go in and help people instantly," he said. "We've got to get down there and get on the ground and figure out what's needed."

Their goal is to outfit 50 people this month.

Choosing those 50 will be the hard part.

Gavras said he will rely on local agencies to help gather the first round of patients. He hopes the people who aren't seen -- either because they're not medically ready or there isn't time -- will be documented and seen during future missions.

But even that will prove to be a letdown for some, Gavras said.

"They want to walk so bad," Gavras said. "(Waiting) seems so long."

Working against time

The entire process will be a long one for many Haitian amputees.

But the sooner amputees can walk again, the better, said Chad Simpson, practice manager and certified prosthetist at Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics in Oklahoma City.

Using crutches, wheelchairs or improvised prosthetic limbs for long periods of time can delay recovery, Simpson said.

"The goal would be to get in there and try to get those people up and walking again as quickly as possible so other medical complications don't occur," he said.

Thousands of people need limbs, and more amputations are likely. While infrastructure and sanitation are nonexistent, the potential for further amputations continues, Gavras said.

Different problems arise in the developing world, Gavras said.

"Down there," Gavras said, "if they get an infection, we're looking at another surgery, another amputation."

Gavras expects to help thousands of amputees during the coming years, but he hopes to build local skills and knowledge. Experts from the U.S. will help train local technicians. The goal is to create a system where the long-term demand for prosthetics experts can be addressed by local workers.

"Bad things happen," he said. "But maybe we can do some good in that area."

Newstex ID: KRTB-0148-41885206