Limbs For Haiti

Jean Burke of Independence, Iowa, made my day when she called to say she had a prosthetic leg she's not using that she'd like to see go to good use in Haiti. Jean had read my story in The Gazette last Saturday about the Hanger Group, which has an office in Cedar Rapids, collecting prosthetic devices for use by victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake. (I have to thank my wife, Suz, for the idea. She spotted a brochure about the program.)

Jean, 77, lost her leg a couple of years ago as a result of decreased blood flow to her left leg and gangrene in her toes. (See today's Ramblin' column in The Gazette.)

Despite the tragedy, Jean manages to smile and look forward to each day.

For one thing, she spent nearly 30 years working at Peoples Hospital in Independence. She also survived a car accident that crushed her pelvis. So, she knows what it's like to be a victim and to have someone reach out to help.

After I picked up the leg Jean now longer uses, I delivered it to Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics in Cedar Rapids.

At Hanger I talked to branch manager Tucker Pettinger and certified prosthetist Tim Zwanziger. What a pair of really nice guys.

Tucker (left in the photo), 45, has been with Hanger for 18 years. His father fit prosthetics for a living in North Dakota.

Tim, 32, with Hanger the last 4 1/2 years, learned of the vocation in high school and made it his calling. Both men earned college degrees related to their profession.

"You try to help these people do the best they can," Tim says.

"You want to improve their lives," Tucker adds. "Their day-to-day function."

Such is the goal of  the program to get these prosthetics to Haiti. Reports indicate that 4,000 up to 100,000 victims of the earthquake lost limbs. And in Haiti, that's especially tough because people without limbs are often viewed as outcasts according to a story on MSNBC's Web site. (Click here.)

The prosthetic devices, whether that be a leg, a foot or an arm, will be reconditioned before they're shipped to Haiti. And each one will be specifically fit to each person. All donations are welcome because, even if the limb appears to be beat up on the outside, the inside parts can probably be used.

I had hoped to follow Jean's below-the-knee leg on its way through the process, eventually talking to the person in Haiti who receives it.

Alas, since the prosthetic is not registered and since it may not even look the same by the time it's recondition, that's impossible.

Still, this is a great program and you know people on the other end will be very appreciative.

So, if you're in the Cedar Rapids area, you can drop off you used prosthesis at Hanger, 866 Fifth Ave. SE, or call (319) 364-2767. And if you're somewhere else, Hanger has more than 670 centers around the United States so you can look it up (click here for Hanger's Web site) and deliver that limb you're no longer using.

As Jean says, "It's going for a good cause."