Prosthetis Lecture!

Last week I went to a lecture on prosthesis organised by my school. I wasn’t aware that the Dorset Prosthetics company was so prevalent until then - the engineer who gave the lecture had worked on numerous high profile cases, even designing and carving a pair of designer wooden legs for a Vivienne Westwood catwalk! He spoke about the importance of the process because of its ability to allow people to move on with their lives after an accident; losing a limb has a powerful psychological impact on the patient. In Sweden, he said, prosthetic limbs are actually fitted while the patient is  under anaesthetic from the amputation – the result being, that when they wake up there is less of a psychological impact on the patient. In the UK patients usually have to wait a few months for the treatment. The art of prosthetics has progressed rapidly in recent years – it bears a stark comparison to the evidence of loss of limbs in the World War One literature I have been studying for my English AS! Prosthetic limbs these days are radically advanced and able to move and correspond to the patient’s movement using gyroscopic technology, and so cope with a variety of terrains. The nature of the prosthetic limb depends on the client – although for every limb four pairs are made – one for day and one for night time, one for sport, and one for swimming, the requirements of the client can depend on their lifestyle. The model who sported the wooden Vivienne Westwood carved legs had created a variety of legs which allowed her to adjust her height, pursue her athletics career and even legs which looked like jellyfish! Her method of coping after her trauma was inspiring – she had managed to turn her disability into her individuality. It made me see the importance of a strong psychological mindset after a trauma.