Army Sgt. Jerrod Fields, an Army World Class Athlete Program sprinter, works out at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. Photo Credit: Tim Hipps, American Forces Press Service.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, approximately 960 members of the U.S. armed forces have suffered major limb amputations while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, and another 45,000 veterans have non-combat-related amputations caused by peripheral arterial disease, diabetes, cancer, and other medical conditions. Soon, these amputees will have instant online access to an amputee guide developed by the Prosthetics Section at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC), Houston, Texas. According to a Department of Veterans Affairs press release, it will soon be made available on the VA website for use by all clinicians.
“Working every day with veterans anticipating an amputation, new amputees, and family members, we saw a need for a resource and reference manual,” said Mark Benveniste, RN, CP, of MEDVAMC. “We wanted to help them meet the challenges ahead, let them know what to expect, and how to find the support they will need.”
According to the MEDVAMC, the guide covers a wide range of issues including amputation surgery, managing pain, residual-limb care, adapting to life with amputation with and without an artificial limb, and obtaining a prosthesis. The guide also includes a number of sport and recreation resources.
“I went through self-pity, anger, and bitterness,” said Vietnam veteran Leonard Scott, who was wounded in combat on July 10, 1968, and has a right transfemoral amputation. “I thought my whole world had come to an end, but I learned you can do everything you did before if you put your mind to it. I believe this guide will be helpful for new amputees to learn to never say ‘I can’t.'”
