2015 Spring Clinic in La Paz
Hola Nomads, Our Spring clinic sponsored by the La Balandra Rotary Club of La Paz, BCS was held February 2nd through the 13th, 2015. Volunteers
fabricated and delivered the following orthoses (braces) and prostheses (artificial limbs):
(3) AFO's (ankle-foot orthoses or below the knee braces - custom made)
(2) TLSO's (custom made plastic body jackets to support the spine)
(42) other bracing systems that were either "off the shelf" or were recycled braces that were modified to fit current patient needs
(18) custom made prostheses, including:
(7) above the knee prostheses
(9) below the knee prostheses
(1) symes (ankle disarticulation) prosthesis
(1) hip disarticulation prosthesis (which is still to be finished and delivered at the next clinic to be held the first two weeks of
November)
Volunteers included: Dr. Robert Haining, Brad Farrow CPO(e) and his wife Louise, Garth Knapp CPO, Jim Thompson, Mike Jeffries CO and his wife Jane
who is a Registered Nurse, Zenon Labudda, Dr. Alejandro Aguirre Chavez, Victor (a physical therapist from La Paz), Glen (a high school student from La
Paz who plans on making prosthetics and orthotics his career), Beatriz Alverde Unger (a teacher from La Paz who acted as translator), Gayle Edwards
(occupational therapist and President of Mobilize Mankind), and, of course, members of the La Balandra Rotary Club and their wives who would provide
wonderful lunches each day at the clinic.
Although we recycle every possible prosthetic component including feet, endo and exo skeletal parts, leather straps/thigh corsets, etc., and every
conceivable used brace or brace parts, it costs about $2000.00 USD per clinic for other supplies and materials that cannot be recycled, such as resin,
catalyst, pigment, glue, cotton & dacron & nylon webbing, leather, rivets, etc., etc., etc.
We have been holding these clinics for more than 10 years now, and hope to continue. If every member of these forums could donate just one dollar, we
can raise enough funds to insure our clinic's survival well into the future. There are two ways in which you can donate, they are:
Limb Restoration Fund
San Ramon United Methodist Church
902 Danville Blvd, Alamo, CA. 94507-2420
(ask for a receipt for tax purposes)
Or, for those of you who wish to donate on-line you can go to:
MobilizeMankind.org and go to the link "Go Fund Me" and make sure that you indicate that the donation be directed to the Prosthetic/Orthotic Clinic in
the "Leave a Comment" section. This is necessary because Mobilize Mankind has other projects in Mexico, and these donations need to be "earmarked"
for our clinic.
Last but not least I would like to thank the Vagabundos del Mar Travel Club, their executives and all of the staff members who continue to assist us
with our endeavor. Thank you all for your consideration. Paul & Shelley Boe
Two dirt roads diverged in Baja and I, I took the one less graveled by......
Soy ignorante, apático y ambivalente. No lo sé y no me importa, ni modo.
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