Chad: Thank you for bringing prosthetics and orthotics to the Guinebor 2 Hospital

A new prosthetics and orthotics (P&O) service is coming to the Guinebor 2 Hospital in Chad!

Thanks to the generous support of people like you, enough funds have been raised to purchase the specialist equipment and some materials needed to start the service, and it will soon be up and running.

This service could be life-changing for someone like Ali. He’s an 18-year-old farmer, and his foot had to be amputated after he was a passenger in a bad motorbike accident. He still has his whole life ahead of him, but he is no longer able to work. A prosthetic foot would enable him to walk again, work again, and hope for the future again.

The new P&O service could also help Issa, pictured below. At just 13, he had to have his left leg amputated above the knee. He has to rely on crutches to get around, and can’t do everything his friends are doing.

Issa asked the staff at the Guinebor 2 Hospital, where he has been treated, if they could make him a new leg. At the time, the heart-breaking answer was ‘no’ – but thanks to your support, it will soon be ‘yes’.

Orthotics to help disabled children

While prosthetics involves creating artificial limbs, which will help people like Ali and Issa, orthotic devices are used to support existing body parts to improve overall function.

The orthotics service will help people like four-year-old Tahir. He has cerebral palsy, which has led to him experiencing lower limb contractures. Thanks to the work of Child Development Centre at the Guinebor 2 Hospital funded by MAI, he can now extend his legs and stand with someone supporting him – something that was impossible two years ago. But he still struggles to be able to take a step, and even the physios can find it hard to move his legs forward.

When the new P&O service is running, he could be fitted with custom ankle foot orthoses (AFOs). These are bespoke moulded plastic splints for both feet and ankles that hold them in a better position. With AFOs, the improved alignment of his lower limbs would help Tahir to need less assistance to instigate a step. He might even be able to take his first steps with only a walking aid.

Before his family brought him to the Guinebor 2 Hospital, Tahir was facing a life where sitting was his only option. On top of the obvious limitations of this, only sitting would have led to issues with bone density, joint development, and circulation, amongst other problems.

Working with him so that he can now stand with support was a big improvement, and helped with some of these issues. With help from the new P&O service, he could soon have an even greater level of movement and independence.

Seeing their children making improvements like these is a great source of hope and joy for families like Tahir’s. It makes a huge difference to these families to receive the care of the team at the Guinebor 2 Hospital, and the support of people like you.

Support the new P&O service

You can still support this new service. The next phases of the project will involve creating a dedicated premises for the new department, and training local Chadians in P&O.