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Home / Thoughts / Get an idea of what it’s like to walk with a prosthesis

Get an idea of what it’s like to walk with a prosthesis

Written by Sean on Friday, September 29, 2006

Someone pointed me to an interesting site yesterday. It’s the site for a rehabilitation center in Canada, who has come up with a "device was developed to allow non-amputees to walk like a person with a trans-femoral amputation". This seems like an interesting item that could benefit some of our friends who’s BIID focus is leg amputations.

An interesting device

This is not a new thing, the information dates back to 1999. It’s new to me however, and I thought it was really cool. You can read the entire article at the following address: http://www.irrd.ca/cag/gait_evaluation/.

Obviously, wearing some device on one’s leg does not create the experience of being an amputee, just like sitting in a wheelchair does not create the experience of being paralysed. But it may be beneficial for a few people to be able to get some sort of experience of walking with a prosthesis.

I know Lily, a recent amputee, told me that she won’t be wanting a prosthesis, that she’s wanted to have her leg cut off for a long time, and she doesn’t see the point of putting a fake leg there in place of the functioning one she managed to lose. And this is fair enough.

Yet, it seems that many amputee wannabes do want to wear a prosthesis. It also seems like it might be a half decent alternative, or a way to give someone an idea of what it’s like to walk "differently".

Obviously, it’s not the most ideal item if one wants to be out there in public, short of a very big skirt to hide one’s foot, or a huge raincoat, or something like that, there’s gonna be a foot sticking out from behind.

Ohh, I dunno, take it or leave it, you probably can’t acquire one anyway. But seems like it might be useful to a few of you guys and gals.

[tags]Amputee, Prosthesis, Walking, Wheelchair[/tags]