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HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Amputee and Prosthetic Center through its organization Limbs of Love donated a pair of limbs on 12/27/07 to amputee patient Jerri Chapman who hasn’t walked in over a year. Jerri Chapman is the young mother of two boys; David, 10 and Jake, 4. As a result of her loss, it has been an everyday struggle for Jerri to care for her children since she lacked the estimated $40,000 to pay for a pair of artificial limbs. “It’s affected my kids 100 percent”, Mrs. Chapman laments. “I’ve always been a hands-on mom. I was one of those mothers that was always around at school and especially enjoyed having lunch with my son David once a week at his school. Without legs I just couldn’t do that anymore. This had literally taken my life away from me, it’s so unfair – it’s just crazy.” During a routine gallbladder surgery in June of 2006 a medical line was accidentally left inside Jerri’s body. Complications arose as a result of this oversight, Jerri was hospitalized, slipped into a coma and was on life support for four months before both of her legs and her right thumb were amputated. Once it was discovered that the infection was caused by a lead left inside her body Mrs. Chapman fully recovered and was home within two weeks. In September of 2007 Joe Sansone, the founder of Limbs of Love received a request for a donation for Mrs. Chapman from her former boss. “I’ve been in this business for a while and we see a lot of amputees and hear their unfortunate stories,” stated Sansone, “but it brought tears to my eyes when I first heard Mrs. Chapman’s story. I was affected not so much by what she has personally gone through, but the impact it has had on her children. It was so distressing I just couldn’t become another set of deaf ears. I pulled the trigger and had our prosthetic coordinator call Jerri the very day we received her letter and tell her we would be making her a new pair of legs.” Mrs. Chapman beamed with motherly pride relating how her ten-year-old son wept with joy when he first heard that his mother was going to “get some legs”. She said all her son wanted for Christmas was for his mom to “get her legs” and some toys for his little brother.
After Mrs. Chapman was fit with her new limbs she tentatively stood inside a pair of parallel bars and put her weight on her new legs - and slowly began to walk. After a few steps she turned and walked back to her wheelchair and collapsed, weeping uncontrollably. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as her husband, two children and sister shared in her life altering moment. When asked how she felt about her new lease on life she repeated through tears, “you just don’t know, you just don’t know, you just don’t know.” Mrs. Chapman did not have unreasonable lofty physical goals. When asked by her prosthetist that fit her legs, Robyn Skogman C.P. what she was most looking forward to doing, Mrs. Chapman sheepishly grinned and responded, “I just can’t wait to actually walk into school with my son. I am more excited to do that then I am getting my legs back.” The apprehension that was evident on the nervous face of Mrs. Chapman when she rolled into the Amputee and Prosthetic Center in her wheelchair was gone when she left - she was tired, but she was beaming with tears of joy as she walked again for the first time in over a year. About Limbs of LoveLimbs of Love is a charitable organization dedicated to providing assistance to amputee patients who are financially constrained and in-need of prosthetics. Limbs of Love utilizes the time, skills and resources of medical professionals and manufacturers who receive no remuneration in an effort to improve the overall quality of life for amputees. Through the support of The Amputee and Prosthetic Center, prosthetic manufacturers, and medical personnel from the Houston area, Limbs of Love will be donating as many as 20 prosthetic limbs with a value of over $250,000 to those who have suffered the loss of a limb and have been previously turned away. About the Amputee and Prosthetic CenterThe Amputee and Prosthetic Center is a division of TMC Orthopedic and home of the largest prosthetic facility in Texas. Through six Houston locations they provide prosthetic devices for upper and lower extremities. They specialize in microprocessor (computer-controlled) prosthetics (artificial limbs). They specialize in hard to fit limbs and the provision of limbs for active amputees. Contacts TMC Orthopedic, Houston |
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