THAILAND: Attempt to set a new Guinness World record in Bangkok for the "most number of protheses donated by single organisation"

Some 200 people were measured for artificial limbs in the Thai capital on Sunday (July 16) as part of an attempt to set a new Guinness World record for "most number of protheses donated by single organisation". Over 10 days, more than 600 amputees and people in need of limbs will be measured for free limbs at a mobile prosthetics unit set up at Sanam Luang, a park in front of Bangkok's glittering Grand Palace. Hundreds of new limbs will then be presented to the amputees on July 26, the final day of the event, part of the kingdom's year long celebrations of Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej's 60th year on the throne. Patients receiving the free prosthetic legs at Sunday's event mostly come from Bangkok and surrounding provinces, but some have travelled over as far as 300km to be fitted with the limbs. Most are too impoverished to afford a limb, which costs between 10,000 Thai baht (262 US dollars) to 80,000 Thai baht (2,098 US dollars) each, and have had to live without limbs for years. Others were too poor to replace worn out prosthetics, which usually need replacing every 3 years. For food vendor Larp Kumlyuan who travelled into Bangkok from Kanchanaburi, 128 km (80 miles) in the west, the free limbs will be a much welcome gift that will greatly increase her mobility. The 69 year old lost both her legs below the knees to vascular occlusion over 6 years, and has been moving around with the aid of an old wheelchair. "It'll be a lot of help with two legs, because I can go out to work and sell food," she said. Being fitted with prosthetic limbs does not translate into immediate mobility for many amputees. Generally, the more of a limb an amputee has lost, the more difficult it is to adjust to life with it. For many who have lost their limbs, especially above the knees, being fitted with prosthetic limbs is like learning to walk all over again. Like 54 year old Dumrong, who hasn't walked since his limbs were crushed below the hips in a trawler engine accident 32 years ago. "I still don't know what it'll be like (to have legs) but I'm sure I'll take a long time learning to walk. It's been a long time since I've walked," he told Reuters. In Thailand, the reasons for losing one's limbs range from province to province. The major cause however, is traffic accidents, followed by landmines, and disease. "Most of the cause of losing the legs is from traffic accidents. And second most is from landmine, because in the past, 20 years ago, you know, there was war in the rural areas," said Dr. Therdchai Jivacate, secretary-general of the Prostheses Foundation. Fitting and producing a prosthetic limb usually takes from a week to a month, depending on whether a leg has been amputated below the knee, or above it. But at this mobile prosthetics unit, an amputee's artificial limbs can be completed in a day thanks to limbs that have been partly prefabricated. Amputees get their limbs measured, a mould for the artificial limb is cast from the measurements, and in several hours, a new leg is ready to be tried on the recipient for fit. ENDS

ITN Source | July 21, 2006

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