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Prosthetic legs empower disabled people, restore confidence
Drenched in sweat, 58-year-old Tommy Suntoro stepped into the University of Indonesia Hospital parking lot in Depok, West Java, where hundreds of other people had also just completed a fun run on Sunday morning
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span>Drenched in sweat, 58-year-old Tommy Suntoro stepped into the University of Indonesia Hospital parking lot in Depok, West Java, where hundreds of other people had also just completed a fun run on Sunday morning.
His face beamed with pride after breaking his own record: walking 4 kilometers with his prosthetic leg. It took him more than an hour to finish, but all that mattered for him was his endurance throughout the race, cosponsored by a prosthetic leg manufacturer and a fashion company.
“My right calf was amputated five years ago as a result of diabetes and I’ve been using a prosthetic leg ever since. I’m usually already exhausted walking from my house to the nearest train station [around 200 meters distance], but today I walked 4 km,” he told The Jakarta Post.
He recalled that he needed a whole year to finally accept the fact that he had lost a leg, but it took him only a month to adapt to his current prosthetic leg. Thankfully, his loving wife, Ria, and doctors who treated him at Tarakan Hospital, Central Jakarta, helped him in getting through the difficult times.
“I’m one of the lucky few amputees who can have a good prosthetic leg. I used to wear one that I got for free from a social event, but it hurt my leg a lot,” he added.
He gave credit to the doctors who had networks of prosthetic limb producers that the patients could contact to buy customized prosthetics and his wife who persistently tried to find him a better prosthetic leg until she found the one that suited him best.
“Keep in mind that every individual’s body parts are different. The ones that are given out in charity events most of the time neither suit our specific conditions nor are of good quality. Meanwhile, the good ones are expensive,” he explained.
“A disabled person like me doesn’t need pity from society or the government. We only need support to restore our normal ability and confidence,” the resident of Mangga Besar, West Jakarta, added.
Tommy’s prosthetic leg cost approximately Rp 15 million (US$1,051), of which he only paid Rp 1 million through a charity program run by prosthetic limb manufacturer Dare.
Dare cofounder Noviyani Tyas said that a good prosthetic leg required proper measurement and quality material.
“It usually takes up to three months for a person to have their leg measured before the prosthetic leg is produced, assembled, tested and retested, until [it fits the person] and they are ready to walk again,” Tyas said.
Another race participant was 9-year-old Aira, both of whose legs are prosthetics. She lost her legs and her left arm in a traffic accident near her house in Bandung, West Java, when she was 4 years old.
Aira’s mother, Iis Nuraini, said the pair was Aira’s second as she had outgrown the first pair.
“For months, everyone in the family took turns carrying Aira. It’s very joyful to see Aira finally able to run again,” Iis said.
According to her mother, Aira is a strong little girl who not only can use prosthetics that weigh up to 3 kilograms but who has also risen up from adversary to be able to run again.
“We’ve discussed customizing Aira’s next prosthetics with fun decorations,” she said, referring to prosthetics, or orthotics, that are painted in colors or patterns.
