On September 19, 1985, one of the most devastating earthquakes in the history of the Americas hit Mexico City. The earthquake measured 8.1 on the Richter scale and was felt as far away as Los Angeles. There was widespread destruction, in excess of $3.7 billion, and many residents of Mexico City believe that deaths from the quake likely approached 100,000.
A few months after the quake, Roy Snelson, CPO(E), asked a dozen U.S. prosthetists, including Junior Odom, CPO, to come to Mexico City to participate in a humanitarian effort for individuals who had no access to, or could not pay for, prosthetic care. Without a shop or tools, the volunteers fitted more than 85 "third-world" prostheses and trained 18 Mexican colleagues.
Twenty years later, the humanitarian mission is still going strong. Joel Kempfer, CP, FAAOP, recently lead a volunteer effort at Centro de Rehabilitacion Integral de Minusvalidos del Aparato Locomotor (CRIMAL), in Querétaro, Mexico, about three hours northwest of Mexico City.
The group no longer uses "third-world" prostheses; it now builds limbs with the help of donations from prosthetic manufacturers. College Park Industries, Fraser, Michigan, donated almost 40 units of the TrésTM Foot to Kempfer and his team, which provides educational training at the "Integral Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled of the Musculoskeletal System" to regional prosthetists and care to needy children and adults from all over Mexico.
Kempfer, owner of Kempfer Prosthetics Orthotics Inc., Greenfield, Wisconsin, was accompanied by Molly Cooper, CPO, (SPS Prosthetics and Orthotics, Alpharetta, Georgia); Laura Arsena, CPO, (Evolution Footwear, Torrance, California); John "Mo" Kenney, CPO, FAAOP, (Kenney Orthopedics LLC, Lexington, Kentucky); Dennis Ebbing, CPO, (Clinical Prosthetics Orthotics LLC, based in New York); Eric Ramcharran, CPO, (Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic, Florida); and Jim Hughes, CP, (Atlanta Prosthetics & Orthotics Inc, Georgia).
With help from Arturo Vasquez-Vela, a local practitioner, and other regional practitioners, the U.S. O&P team hosted a one-day technical conference, helped 28 people varying in age from infant to the elderly, and built 11 new lower-limb prostheses and four upper-limb prostheses. The team also made more than 15 adjustments, modification, or repairs to existing prostheses.
"We get more out of it than we give. It means a lot to us to be able to provide our services," Kempfer said.
The College Park Trés Foot provides a service-free option for individuals with moderate activity levels in environments where immediate or frequent access to a prosthetist is not available. The dynamic response foot incorporates a full-length toe lever and soft components to articulate inversion/eversion, and restore function.
CRIMAL, which began humbly with two houses built by volunteers, today has orthotic and prosthetic facilities, physical and occupational therapy, as well as job training services. Future plans include a hospital ward. People pay or barter what they can afford, and the typical maximum amount charged for a prosthesis is approximately $100.
