Over 200 benefit from Prosthesis workshop

Oct 23, 2018 News

Senior prosthesis technician – Collin Charles and an unfinished prosthesis limb in the workshop

Individuals who have lost limbs are now benefitting from Ptolemy Reid Prosthesis and Orthotics workshop. Senior prosthesis technician, Collin Charles, heads the workshop, which has been in service for 51 years.
The service that Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre provides encompasses care for patients who have lost limbs as well as those who suffer from congenital deformities.
It is understood that, the workshop was first constructed to provide services to those who were stricken with the crippling effects of poliomyelitis. However, it has expanded its services to providing mobility for those who were once unable to experience that physical freedom.
Ptolemy Reid workshop now caters to both the prosthesis and orthotic needs of patients, with prosthesis referring to the replacement of a missing body-part whilst orthotics being the use of an external device to modify the skeletal or neuromuscular system. Patients who suffer from congenital deformities can receive orthotic devices, which will increase their level of mobility.
Charles, who has been in the prosthesis business for 25 years, explained that most of the workshop’s patients are individuals who have lost their limbs due to diabetes. He added that it is the joy that he sees from his patients when they are being fitted that fuels him.
“It brings me immense joy whenever I see a patient happy after he would have been fitted. When I can give someone that joy of walking again, to see that is amazing. This is why I do this… I love it, I love the joy that it brings to others,”Charles said.
In order to handle the influx of patients who require prosthesis or orthotic limbs, individuals are placed on a waiting list. Charles explained that the centre, which has been exposed to a prosthesis-training programme, now has three added trainee technicians who have lessened the time in which patients are required to wait for their prosthesis or orthotics.
The workshop has placed more emphasis on creating prosthesis for the lower extremities. It takes less than two weeks for the technicians to create one prosthetic limb. The centre also provides physical therapy for patients to adjust to their new body parts.
The cost for one prosthetic limb can range from $250,000 to $350,000. Whilst this amount may seem quite significant, Charles explained that the centre operates as a non-profit organization, charging patients only for the materials and not for the actual labor.
There are also safety nets for patients who may find it difficult to afford their prosthesis. The centre has collaborated with the Church of the Latter Day Saints on a venture that allows persons who, who are assessed as not being adequately equipped financially, free of cost access to their prosthesis.
This programme has allowed many persons access to mobility, Charles explained. He then added that in most cases, the fitting of prosthesis could radically change the lives of persons.
“I remember seeing one of my patients crying as he took his first steps with his prosthesis. It touched me.”
Charles stated that he wanted the public to be aware of the work that the centre is doing. He added that both children and adults benefit from the services. The centre has fitted 120 patients for prosthesis and 105 for orthotics just this year.

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