Dominican Republic work

Dominican Republic work

Jim DeWees

12/15/2005

Now that I have stirred up some stuff over the qualifications issue and
debate, I thought I would change the subject and post something which is
more positive and brings more joy and feelings of satisfaction to me and
others. But first, I appreciate the positive feedback that I have gotten.
I have received about 50 emails so far, all of them are very supportive and
share my views and feelings. If we all feel this way, then why can't we
change some things and get our organizations to represent what we feel and
want to see happen. My hopes that we will see some positive changes in this
field and move forward, and not backwards which has been the case over the
past 8 years that I have know about this field.

OK, on to a different subject.

I started a not for profit organization in January 2004 called Prosthetic
Limbs for the Dominican Republic. I chose this country because I spent a
couple years living there back in the mid 80's. I had no interest or
exposure to the prosthetic world back then, but still have vivid memories of
seeing amputees everywhere on crutches, or people walking around missing
arms, guys scooting around on homemade skateboard types of devices missing
both legs, etc. Growing up in the midwest, in a small community, I had
never seen amputees before. It was very shocking to me.

In 1998 I was introduced to this field, and in 2003 started my own business.
  In January 2004 I traveled to the Dominican Republic to see what needs
were there, what facilities were there, what kind of programs they had, if
any. As I suspected, there is not much there to help the poor people (which
is the vast majority of the population) to obtain prosthetic devices at all.
  There are no social programs, no government aid, nothing. There is one
facility there in Santo Domingo called Centro de Rehabilitacion, which make
prosthetics. But they are still rather costly for many people to afford. I
don't exactly know how it works, I have been there to talk to the director
and did not get a straight answer. I do know it costs money from talking to
a few amputees that have been there, and could not afford to pay the price
they were quoted.

I met 2 men that own a company called Innovacion Ortopedica also in Santo
Domingo (the capital city). They run a very functional, yet primitive,
office. I spoke with them about what help I could offer them, what they
needed, how they could assist me in starting a charity based program, etc.
It was a very positive experience. They have a long list of names, ages,
amputation levels, addresses, phone numbers if possible, etc. of people that
have been in for a consultation, and then realized there is no way for them
to afford a prosthesis. I told them what components I had with me, and they
selected a few people and called them to come in. In a 2 week period, I was
able to fabricate and fit 6 legs there. I brought casts of 6 more BKs and 3
BEs back to my office, and during the following 3 months made these limbs
and returned to the DR to fit them and deliver them. On that trip, I was
able to make 12 more legs and brought back a few more casts. I returned a
few months later, fit those limbs, made a few more, and so on.

So far I have fabricated and fit about 50 lower and 8 upper extremity
prosthetics. I have a few more ready to take back down there and do it all
again. It is a very challenging 2 weeks, lots of work. It is always warm
there, the office has no air conditioning (rarely has electricity for that
matter, except for the portable generator that is used for small electric
devices like drills, or sanders). It is like working in a sauna, which is
rather uncomfortable to say the least, but still rewarding. The positive
thing is that it is a great weight loss program, which I guess is a side
benefit.

I want to thank several people that have made this all possible:

--Hosmer first off, for donating several terminal devices, gloves, wrist
units, and elbows.

--Daw for donating several skins which were all in the dark colors and
various sizes. They were either discontinued or slightly blemished, which
still work great and make people happy there.

--American Prosthetic Components for donating several assorted modular
components, which again were slightly blemished but still very good pieces.

--Knit Rite for sending a few boxes of socks of all sizes and ply.

--Orthotic and Prosthetic Designs, Columbus, Indiana for sorting out their
stock and donating several miscellaneous parts and components.

--Campbell Childs/Forsee for several boxes of assorted SAFE feet. It is
kind of funny to call the office in Santo Domingo and tell them to find a
patient that needs a size 27 left foot, and have him come in. Or that I
have a size 24 Right foot, find someone it will fit. They always find the
patients to match the feet that I have.

--Patients and families of amputees that have sent or delivered their old,
un-needed prostheses to me to take apart and reuse the components.

--Boy Scout troop 180 and eagle scout Scott Adams for organizing the troop
to come to the office and spending hours taking apart limbs, putting the
parts in bags, and getting them ready to transport and use in the DR. This
was Scott's eagle project.

--Cascade Orthopedic Supply for donating various parts and materials.

--Orthopedics of Southern Indiana, Bloomington, Indiana and Dr. Mark Hansen
for financial help and also organizing a fund raiser help cover the expenses
of other materials and supplies that needed to be purchased.

Also, to many friends and family members that have helped with other various
items and issues that needed to be done to make this project successful.

I hope I covered everyone that has helped out in this project. Without all
this help, this project would not have been able to help so many people.
It is truly rewarding to see the people smile and often times cry with tears
of joy as they are able to finally walk again, or feed themselves, or
whatever. It is hard work, but it is very much worth it all. It reminds me
all the time why I got into this field in the first place. It is easy to
get upset, cranky, irritable, frustrated or just down right angry when you
have to constantly fight with insurance companies or other payers, and start
asking yourself why you even bother to keep on fighting this messed up
system. There are many other jobs out there, many other careers that surely
aren't this frustrating. But, this work keeps me mindful of this important
work that we do.

I do have a few photos on my website of a few of the people I have met and
helped out. The site is: www.prostheticsindiana.com under the Dominican
Republic. There are a hundred more photos that I have to put on the page,
but it is a matter of time (or lack of time) to go and update the pages.

Again, thanks to everyone that has helped me out with this work. Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you. Thanks for taking the time to
read this.