Number of Haitian Amputees On the Rise; Help Needed
In an
article on CNN, I read that the 7.0 earthquake that ravaged the country of Haiti has created what experts are calling "a generation of amputees."
As a result of the disaster, at least 2,000 people have lost limbs. According to Dr. Mitra Roses of the Pan American Health Organization, some hospitals have been performing between 30 and 100 amputations a day, many of these on children.
CNN notes that many people commute by foot or bicycle in Haiti, making amputations especially difficult to live with and accept.
"What I fear is that if I can't walk, I can't go to school and I can't go to church," one boy who lost his foot told the news outlet.
While children in particular are at risk of losing an education, amputees of any age are at a disadvantage as the environment consists of roads and sidewalks that are in bad shape, and wheelchairs, crutches and canes that are limited.
"There are going to be many more disabled (now), and among them a large population of newly amputated patients, and that population is going to grow," Eric Doubt, executive director of Healing Hands for Haiti International, which provides treatment and rehabilitation to people with disabilities, told CNN.
Organizations such as Physicians for Peace, Handicap International and Healing Hands for Haiti International plan on collecting prosthetics, crutches, canes, walkers and wheelchairs, as well as producing between 300 and 400 emergency prostheses, and setting up a prosthesis production facility in Haiti.
Has your facility done anything to help those in need in Haiti? Let us know in the comments section below!
(Click on the organization links above to find out how you can help!)