In an effort to assist the thousands of Haitians who became amputees as a result of injuries sustained in the January 12 earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince, the clinicians at Ability Prosthetics and Orthotics, headquartered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, began collecting their patients’ old prosthetic limbs last February. The collections, which took place at Ability’s five locations, were supplemented by donations shipped in from as far away as California, Massachusetts, and New York. In total, patients donated more than 100 limbs, which Ability presented on June 10 to Physicians for Peace, a nonprofit organization whose volunteer medical personnel practice and teach in the developing world. The limbs will be shipped to Haiti and provided to people in need.
“The unspeakable loss suffered in Haiti has shattered a nation,” said Jeff Brandt, CPO, Ability CEO, “but hopefully receiving these limbs will give the survivors a glimmer of hope for the future.”