An estimated 80–thousand Iraqi Civilians have lost limbs as a direct result of war. Many of these amputees are innocent women and children. The need for prosthetics is on the rise and as LeAnn Wallace reports, a local group is doing its part to help out.
The harsh affects of war continue to weigh heavily on the lives of numerous innocent Iraqi Citizens.
Landmines have left thousands without legs, feet, knees, and other body parts.
"Landmines are and still are a serious problem. Some of those landmines were planned by Sadaam Hassan's military others have resulted from the war."
In an effort to help, The Duluth Rotary teamed up with Saint Scholastica and Saint Mary's Duluth Clinic to start up a prosthetic limb drive.
The idea is to collect as many limbs as possible to ship them over to Basra, Iraq where they will be fitted and placed on amputees.
But before these second hand limbs can be put into use, a certified prothesian has to break down the component to see what parts are salvageable.
Since each prosthetic limb is a custom–fit device, not every part is reusable.
That's where Mike Watson, a certified prothesian from SMDC comes in.
"If someone were to donate a device like this we would be taking the socket off and discarding that, that's the part that interfaces with the patient and we would salvage these components here and send this over to Basra."
A certified prosethic based in Basra will then make the interface for the patient and connect it to the componentry, giving the patient their very own workable limb.
The Duluth Rotary says the limb drive is going well so far, but that they're still looking for a lot more artificial limbs, particularly lower extremity parts.
"My basement is filling up with limbs right now, we'll probably have to start shipping them out soon."
In Duluth, LeAnn Wallace, the Northland's News Center.
The limb drive will continue through February or March. Those interested can contact The Duluth Rotary or Ashley Borgstrom at 218.625.4932 or by e-mail at basraproject@gmail.com
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