How many people in Laos have artificial limbs?
I don’t know. [laughs] I have been concentrating on training and don’t have time to read! How long does it take to make a leg? If we need to finish everything by ourselves, without any [outside assistance] one leg would be about three or four days. Start to finish. That’s if the person is a “primary” patient. What is a “primary” patient? A primary patient is a patient who has never worn prosthesis before. An amputee. But, has never worn a prosthesis. The first time for them. If the person is a primary patient we need more time for training in walking and balancing. Do some people go many years without getting an artificial limb? Yes! Some people live far away from the city. They don’t know what to do or where to go. I met a man in a village who had a home made artificial leg for 28 years. I told him about the work of COPE at the Rehabilitation Center. I encouraged him to come to Vientiane to be fitted with a proper prosthesis. Yes. Good. The man I saw didn’t seem to be moving around mu
