PROSTHETIC MAGIC

Rebecca goes out on a limb

M" ost people who choose this industry as a career generally know someone who has been affected by amputation.

In my final years of school, I had no idea what I wanted to do – I’d been working in a pub after school and spending my summer at camps in the US, often working with special needs children.

It wasn’t until I met a girl who was studying prosthetics and orthotics in Manchester that I really knew this was something for me. And then, that summer in 2005, my uncle had a motorcycle accident.

In the aftermath, I went along with him to his appointments, where it quickly became obvious he’d lose his leg.

My family, understandably, were worried for my uncle, but after learning a little about prosthetics and how they work, and talking to friends in the industry, I knew there was life after amputation. He got his prosthetic limb in 2008 and is able to do everything he wants to do – he even rides his bike!

On the positive side, I found out what working with those who’d suffered through amputation involved and it looked really interesting.

I went home and signed up for a Bachelor of Science in prosthetics that night.

There are only a few locations around the world that teach prosthetics and since I’m from Yorkshire, I studied in the UK. Seeing the difference a prosthetic limb makes to the