In The News

New Limbs, New Lives

Two individuals who thought they might forever be in wheelchairs now have new limbs and new lives. Their wishes came true because of Limbs of Love, a Houston-based charity dedicated to providing artificial limbs to patients who lack the resources to pay for a prosthetic device.

One of the beneficiaries of the program is Terri French, who more than 20 years ago was attacked and stabbed in the back; this was followed by a bite from a poisonous spider, which led to having her leg amputated at the young age of 19. Housebound, French had to learn how to rely on others. Now she can regain her independence. According to Limbs of Love, French recently noted, "I had resigned myself to living a life with limitations, but now I don't have to anymore!"

The other recent recipient of a prosthetic device was Abel Bravo, a Mexican citizen who has resided in the U.S. since childhood (meaning that he does not qualify for Medicare and other assistance programs available to U.S. citizens). Bravo, wheelchair bound for over three years after losing his left leg, did not have the $20,000 to pay for a prosthetic device. As indicated by Limbs of Love, Bravo recently commented on the assistance he received: "I knew for the first time in a long time I would be OK. Without the money for a leg, I thought I would be in a wheelchair forever. I thought this was my life, and I would have to accept it."

Describing the history behind Limbs of Love was Joe Sansone, founder of Limbs of Love, who told OTW, "After years of seeing deserving patients living restricted lives simply because they did not have healthcare coverage, I decided that it just wasn't right to simply take patients that had the financial resources and turn all others away. In 2006 I founded Limbs of Love to provide prosthetic limbs to amputees who did not have the resources to pay for a prosthetic device. Since then we have provided over one million dollars worth of artificial limbs. What I'm most proud of is that, other than support from the prosthetic manufacturer Ossur, almost all of the funds for Limbs of Love are raised through the efforts to the employees of my prosthetic company, the Amputee & Prosthetic Center.

"To help offset the cost of providing limbs, Limbs of Love holds an annual skydiving event, Airborne Amputees, to raise money and awareness for this great cause. Limbs of Love also accepts financial donations and donations of used componentry through our website, which greatly offsets the cost of providing a limb to an amputee.

"Just recently, Limbs of Love has reached out to prosthetists outside of Houston, who have donated their time, expertise and services to amputees in need. Because of these generous contributions, Limbs of Love is able to give amputees across the country the invaluable gift of mobility that might not otherwise be possible.

"Our employees have become so driven in the promotion of Limbs of Love, that during a recent survey where the Amputee and Prosthetic Center was named the best place to work in Houston by the Houston Business Journal, they cited one of the reasons for their job satisfaction was the ability to contribute to the lives of amputees through Limb of Love.

"On a day like today when we see a Mr. Bravo take his first steps in almost three years. And we hear him explain how he had lost three years of his live without a limb, but now he was going to make up for those lost years and be able to work and again, well let me tell you, that just makes us so much more committed to go out and raise even more money so that we can continue to change other amputees lives."

For more information on Limbs of Love, call 713-747-7647 or visit www.limbsoflove.com