Helping differently-abled people
India-based organisation provides free prostheses for South Africans
COLLEEN Soobramoney has a new lease of life.
On Saturday, the 59-year-old, whose left leg was amputated after she stepped on a bottle, was fitted with a prosthetic leg.
Soobramoney, who lives in Bonela in Mayville, was one of 40 KwaZulu-Natal residents who received artificial limbs courtesy of the India-based Narayan Seva Sansthan (NSS), at the Kendra Hall.
Her left leg was amputated in August 2018, after she stood on a bottle.
The diabetic patient said her leg turned septic and doctors advised that amputation was necessary.
“It was a shock. I didn’t think that accidentally tramping on a piece of a bottle would change my life. I had little choice but to go ahead with the procedure,” said Soobramoney.
“After the amputation, I struggled to adjust. I fell three times and became dependent on a walking aid and, sometimes, a wheelchair.”
She said a state hospital placed her on a waiting list for a prosthetic leg.
“But I was told I would have to wait for about six years.”
Soobramoney said her physiotherapist and her pastor told her about the NSS initiative.
She made contact with the organisation and, during the NSS’s first trip to Durban last September, her measurements were taken.
At her fitting on Saturday, Soobramoney was a mixture of nerves and excitement.
Fortunately, her daughter and grandchild were there to support her.
On Monday, she told the POST that having the artificial limb would make her feel normal.
“Due to my amputation, I was forced to stop working as a machinist at a clothing factory. And also, because of my age, I gave up on walking again. The Narayan Seva Sansthan has now made my dream a reality.”
The married mother of three said though the prosthetic was heavy when she bent her knee, she was happy with the fit. She said she would keep wearing it until she got used to it.
NSS is a registered non-profit organisation based in Udaipur, in Rajasthan.
It was established in 1985 by Dr Kailash Chandra Agarwal. It is now run by his son, Prashant Agarwal.
The NSS strives to help alleviate disabilities and rehabilitate differently-abled people from underprivileged backgrounds.
“We understand the challenges faced by the South African Department of Health. It is our wish to assist by alleviating the load in a small way,” said Trishal Sharma, the secretary of the NSS in Durban. The service, he said, was free. The NSS opened its first office in Musgrave, in 2015, followed by a second one in Lenasia, in Johannesburg, last year.
Two days before Soobramoney’s prosthetic leg was fitted, affiliates
ABOVE: Neha Agnihotri, a prosthetist and orthotist, takes the measurements of an amputee. | African News Agency (ANA)
RIGHT: Colleen Soobramoney with her granddaughter, Liyah. |
from India arrived in Durban, where the measurements of 150 other patients were taken.
They are expected to receive their prostheses in September.
Neha Agnihotri, a prosthetist and orthotist – the primary medical clinician responsible for the prescription, manufacture and management of orthoses (artificial devices) – said they used fibreglass casts, bandages and measuring tape for the measurement process.
“Each limb is different for each person. It’s therefore important that we make the limbs according to the exact measurements. We then take the measurements back to India where the prosthetics are made.
“It takes about four months to complete the limbs and we then
bring them back and have them fitted to the patients.”
She said that after the fitting a physiotherapist would help the patients adjust to the new limbs.
Agnihotri added that a prosthetic limb ranged in price from R8 000 to R60 000.
The NSS relies on donations, and the patients are referred to them through advertising, word of mouth and government referrals. Apart from the prosthetic legs, patients also received prosthetic feet. All 40 patients were from KZN and ranged in age from their twenties to their seventies.
The NSS has assisted patients in other African countries, including Kenya and Namibia.
The next measurement camp will be in September.