Here are some of our favorite pictures from our trips.
Foday’s old prosthesis: Foday holds his old prosthesis on with a combination of wire and string. We hope to bring him a new prosthesis next year. Sierra Leone 2016Our Waiting Room – the Mango Tree. Sierra Leone 2016The Prosthetic Team with a few of our patients. Sierra Leone 2016We were fortunate enough to watch a game of the Amputee Soccer Team in Makeni. What a treat! Many of these team members are our patients, but there is a no-leg rule on the field. Sierra Leone 2016Our prosthetic team. Sierra Leone 2016In 2016, we were lucky enough to fit both these girls with prostheses. Zainab (front left) is missing her whole left leg. See her walking in the background in 2016. Zainab (back) is missing her left forearm and hand. See her working her new artificial limb on the right. Sierra Leone 2016“Big Tony” was our technician. The locals and amputees alike loved watching him work on prostheses on the front porch. Sierra Leone 2016Katie and Michelle work with Alimamy (left) and Sembu (right). Both were measured for new prostheses. Sierra Leone 2016Ismial was our first arm patient to receive a Bump arm in Sierra Leone, back in 2013. In 2016, we had the opportunity to fit him with a second Bump arm. We also measured and casted his limbs for more durable custom arms. As we always do, at the end of our interaction, we prayed with Ishmial. Sierra Leone 2016Our team with Alimamy (2014) and Bombay (2016). Sierra Leone 2016Michelle and Katie cast Arune for a new custom prosthesis. Sierra Leone 2016We loved seeing and checking in with Lamin, our first ever patient of New Life with Limbs. It is important for us to continue to meet up with patients and provide them necessary supplies so that they can continue to use the prostheses we provide. Sierra Leone 2016Mary’s smile says it all! She is comfortable in her new prosthesis. Sierra Leone 2016Preparing prosthetic legs for patients in Haiti. February 2014Matt shares the Gospel with Zainab, who came for help with her orthosis. Sierra Leone, 2014Emmanuel is a wonderful friend to New Life with Limbs. We met him in 2013, and we taught him about wearing socks to help him be more comfortable in his old prosthesis. In 2014, we were able to build him a new prosthesis. We were able to provide him a study bible because he was interested in starting a home church. He has a wonderful passion for the Lord! Sierra Leone, 2014Amara was on our list to provide a prosthesis for our first trip in Sierra Leone. Unfortunately, his residual limb has an abnormal shape, making it difficult to make a prosthesis with the supplies we have in Africa. We are still looking for Amara, so that we can provide him the surgery he needs so that we will be able to fit him with a prosthetic leg. Sierra Leone, 2013Praying with Ishmel. Sierra Leone, 2013Beth, our occupational therapist, goes over instructions (in picture form) with Lamin as he receives his prosthetic leg. Sierra Leone, 2013.Juldeh walks away with his new prosthetic leg, carrying his crutches. It never was old to watch the amputees walk away, feeling whole again. Sierra Leone, 2013Mohammed wished to write with his right hand again, and it was the first thing he wanted to do once he was fit with his Bump arm. Sierra Leone, 2014Santos is a woodcarver, so when we measured him in 2013, he said he wished for a hammer to help him with his trade. A friend in the U.S. made a hammer attachment for his prosthesis. It was so neat to see how well Santos used it immediately! Sierra Leone, 2014Santos was also quick to learn how to use his new Bump arm to ride his bicycle. He quickly felt more confident with 2 hands. Sierra Leone, 2014Mohammed was eager to use his Bump arm. As soon as he was fit, he went over and grabbed a broken DVD player from his stuff. His job was to repair electronics, so he quickly set to work figuring out how to use the prosthesis to solder on the DVD player. He was a therapist’s dream! Sierra Leone 2014Ishmial was our first patient to receive a Bump arm. Other organizations had tried to fit him, but they had been unsuccessful due to his long residual limbs. He was quickly able to start using the Bump arm. Praise the Lord! Sierra Leone 2013We met Daniel in 2014. He patiently awaits 2 prosthetic legs so that he is no longer dependent on a wheelchair in the rough terrain of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone 2014Abu wasted no time getting back to life. Sierra Leone 2014Alpha reached down to help Sami as she adjusted his prosthesis. Sierra Leone 2014Our physical therapists, Michelle and Angela, work with Issa to teach him how to transfer weight on and off the prosthesis. Sierra Leone 2014Frances wishes Saidu well as he starts walking with his new prosthetic leg. Sierra Leone 2014Michelle teaches Mohammed to transfer weight onto his prosthesis with Mohammed’s favorite game, football (soccer). Sierra Leone 2014We were able to come to Abraham’s home and fit prosthetic arms and make measurements. Sierra Leone 2014Our team with amputees in front of our temporary prosthetics clinic (an old butcher house) Sierra Leone 2013Some amputees as we prepared for the baptismal service. 39 were baptized that day! Sierra Leone 2013Sami and Matt work where they can. Sierra Leone 2014Sometimes, something as simple as providing simple medical care is one way of showing God’s love. Michelle and Matt help with some basic first aid for a blind student at the Blind School. Sierra Leone 2014We were able to travel to an amputee camp in Freetown to see old patients again and supply arms to new patients. Praise the Lord! Sierra Leone 2014Zainab and Zainab, some teenage girls with ampuations, siezed the opportunity to “plant” (braid) Sami’s hair. Sierra Leone 2014Praying with the patient is equally important as the work we do with the prosthetic limbs. Haiti 2014Mark fits a young girl with her first prosthesis. Haiti 2014Mark and James work to make a socket on the fly for a young lady. Haiti 2014Our team wishes the patient well! Haiti 2014A patient walks away with his new prosthesis, whole again. Haiti 2014In Haiti, it was very important that the prosthetic limbs looked natural – So much so that patients would not use the limbs if they weren’t “finished”. Here is one completed prosthetic leg. Haiti 2014The team works together to fit a patient with his new arm. Haiti 2014The team heads over to Love a Child compound to get to work! Haiti 2014Katie, a prosthetic student, prepares for the day by assembling the prosthesis. Haiti 2014Sarah, a high school student interested in prosthetics, helped prepare for the Haiti trip. She helped make 2 prosthetic arms for earthquake victims in Haiti. February 2014Getting all the legs together in preparation for the Haiti trip. February 2014Zainab and Zainab patiently await their prostheses. Zainab (front) doesn’t have a left leg. She wishes for a prosthesis so that she can play with other children in her school. Zainab (back) is missing her left hand. She eagerly awaits her custom prosthesis. We took casts of both girls in 2014, and we hope to see them soon!We met Mariatu in January of 2014. We hope to return to Sierra Leone to make her her first prosthetic leg.
