Dear list members,
our facility has been approached by a bilateral AK amputee who requests something I’m not sure we will be able to supply him with.
He is around 45 years old, very fit and lives an active life thanks to his wheel chair, snow mobile, ATV and a cross country sit ski device. He hasn’t used his prostheses since he put them away in 1987.
He doesn’t want the stubbies to be an alternative to his wheel chair, but an alternative to use in a few situations where he today crawls or slides on his behind: visiting his next door neighbor, going from his car to his ATV, going from his caravan to his car while camping etc.
The really tricky part of all this is that he is convinced that he could have a pair of stubbies that he can jump into very quickly for just those few steps to his neighbor’s house etc. and then get out of them as quickly, in other words – he would like to wear them outside his clothes!
I have explained to him what has happened in the socket comfort field since 1987 and that I think that he could find a set of stubbies with i.e. KISS suspension very useful, but he’s not very keen on trying a solution like this. He’s able to put a lot of weight on his stump ends, but the right one is considerably shorter.
As stubbies are not commonly used in Sweden, I hope that someone on this list have some experience of a case like this! Any suggestions are welcome!
Regards,
Erling Larsson, CPO
Aktiv ortopedteknik I Värmland AB
Karlstad
Sweden
