All too often as I’m fitting first-time prosthesis users, patients mention that a physician told them that they would never walk again after their amputations and would be relegated to wheelchairs or crutches. Some people might see that as a challenge and find it motivating, but it can take all hope away from someone else. In my role with Ottobock’s Cooperative Care Program, I participate in prosthetic fittings when our customers request help, and I usually work with the clinicians and patients at the facility for two or three days. My role, like all O&P clinicians, includes teaching, coaching, and encouraging prosthesis users, while also being realistic with them that mastering using prostheses will not be easy.
