The Amputee Coalition is asking individuals with limb loss or limb difference who wear prostheses to “show their mettle” during the month of April, which is Limb Loss Awareness Month. Specifically, the Coalition is asking any amputee who is comfortable showing his or her prosthesis to wear it in public and post photographs on the Amputee Coalition’s page on Facebook on Saturday, April 26.
The Coalition initiated Limb Loss Awareness Month in 2011, when it requested proclamations asking for both federal and state recognition of Limb Loss Awareness Month to be held annually in the month of April. In April 2012, President Barack Obama sent a letter to the Coalition acknowledging his support of the initiative. “This support has raised public awareness about limb loss in general,” the Amputee Coalition said in a press release, “and has helped us persist in our mission in providing education and prevention information to the community and the public.”
In addition to the “Show Your Mettle” event, the Coalition said that amputee support groups across the country are holding walk/run/roll events in their communities to benefit its mission to empower people affected by limb loss to achieve their full potential. For example, on Monday, April 21, staff from the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA), American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics (ABC), and the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE) are participating in a lunchtime charity walk to promote National Limb Loss Awareness Month in their community and raise funds for the Coalition’s youth camp.
For more information, call 888.267.5669 or visit www.amputee-coalition.org
