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Lending a Hand (or Foot)  Like most folks I was amazed by the outpouring of
help for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. I'm not talking about
government agencies--I mean people, helping people. No one was
prepared for a storm the size of Katrina hitting where it did. In
the aftermath, folks that weren't busy pointing fingers, or waiting
for someone to ask them for help, jumped in and found a way to
help.
The O&P community also did itself proud in the days and
weeks following the disaster. The day after New Orleans flooded and
the devastation of the whole area was revealed, the OANDP-L
listserve had a flood of its own. Offers of every type of
assistance poured in from everywhere. Practitioners offering to
help fellow practitioners, guys that might ordinarily be as
competitive as football fans on opposite sides of the field, opened
their hearts, homes, and wallets to help. They offered places to
stay, places to practice, places for practitioners to do their
billing and rebuild their lives.
Assistance came from as close as next door and as far away as
the Middle East. A mental health counselor from halfway around the
world who couldn't offer on-site assistance offered counseling for
victims and families via the Internet. A well-known O&P
supplier put his business aside for ten days so he could head up a
team that rescued animals left stranded by Katrina. Suppliers
donated products and supplies needed to build new limbs and repair
old ones damaged in the storm. Maybe most amazing of all, even the
Medicare auditors agreed to give the affected region some
relief.
O&P: It's What We Do
I guess it's just the nature of what we do--helping people get
their lives and their livelihoods back that made helping each other
so easy. We improvise, create, and hammer out solutions to
complicated problems every day. So when someone comes along that
needs help, but can't pay, we just see it as another problem to
solve.
Heroes and Help
We have many "not-for-profit" organizations such as the Amputee
Coalition of America (ACA), Barr Foundation, and the O&P
Assistance Fund (OPAF) that work hand-in-hand with practitioners to
improve the lives of amputees. Our trade publications are always
running stories about practitioners going out of their way, and
oftentimes, out of the country, to help folks when they need a leg
or a brace. Many of the large companies in O&P support these
organizations and feel a sense of obligation to give back to the
industry that provides for them.
Still, the real heroes are the guys and gals that come in early,
stay late, give up weekends and vacations, not to mention profit,
to take care of the patients that cannot move forward in life
without the legs and braces they make. I know I've said it before,
but O&P is more than just a job for the most of us; it's an
opportunity to use our talents to make a real difference in
peoples' lives.
Everyone can do something to help folks in need; just look
around and find a place to jump in and help. Some people give their
time; others, their money; and some blessed few can give both.
Working together, we make our little corner of the world a better
place, and when all is said and done, isn't that really what it's
all about, anyway?
I guess seeing all that generosity and cooperation must be
what's got me feeling a little less....EDGY 
Table Of Contents - November 2005
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