05/09/2020
nothing feels more satisfying yet rewarding than walking an amputee for the first time. Specially like this guy going through 8 months of wound care and scar tissues at the top of pandemic and facility lockdown. I cannot imaging the amount of stress, anxiety, uncertainty, depression and trauma they go through, not knowing if they would be able to walk again comfortably, and gain their independence and dignity. Simple things like being able to walk to restroom, getting back to work or hobbies, drive, holding grandkids hands walking in the park or chasing them around... Sometime when I tell my patients that 2 days after being casted they would be walking out of my office with their prosthsis, they look at me in disbelief like kind of a fool talking nonsense! And boy I can not wait to make it happen. Sometimes they burst into tears, families get emotional, tap my shoulder or give me a hug, sometimes they make just a meaningful eye contact for the first time and say good job, you were right, how did you know that?! Sometimes they just remember to ask my name and ask how to pronounce it correctly! It’s ma-jeed. Blacks call me magic man, Hispanics call me Mario! Whites twist the sentences to avoid saying my name! After 31 years I still get the exact same adrenaline rush while fitting my patients for the first time. specially since I modify my molds myself and fabricate my sockets myself, the old school way. majority of commercialized companies send them out for modifications and fabrications, so there is no personal touch. I hold each one of my prosthesis so dearly. Funny story, sometimes patients walk in my offfice and say I fitted them 10 or more years ago, I look at them and say I’m sure you are mistaken, I have never seen you before. They insist that I had fitted them with details! I ask them to take their prosthesis off so I can take a look if something needed to be fixed. and as soon as I see the prosthesis I can say I had made it, it’s exactly like your signature, a painting or better a sculpture, it represents you if you had done it all by yourself. Its embarrassing that I have to apologize for not remembering their face sometimes. And I think that Makes prosthetists separate from the rest of rehab field, to design and create a biomechanical structure from the scratch to change someone’s life. Carbon fiber, titanium parts, microchips, remote controls, 3D printed parts, endless options. It is a very personal relationship with patients to get them where they wish to be, for elderly just ADL, for younger folks playing golf, swimming, running, biking, competing in Paralympics, climbing, dancing in high heels to name a few. I often get invited to their funerals, or my pediatrics birthday parties, some graduations. What I like about prosthetics is seeing the result of my job right away. It doesn’t take weeks or months like other rehab interventions to see a drastic change in patients functional level, independence, confidence, happiness and attitude. I don’t think I would ever loose this feeling, probably I die one day at office while fitting my last patient! It’s very fulfilling to love your job passionately and enjoy every moment of it, even after 31 years. This simple post changed to be the story of my professional life...!
