Stories for Haiti

I love connecting with families of children with limb differences and I crave learning stories from adult amputees to see if there are lessons I can share with Jordan. Not long ago I was invited to participate in a group called Amputee Empowerment Partners. The group is connected to the larger amputee world compared to the child-focused group I help moderate called Sammy’s Friends. The EAP site tipped me off on a powerful project that is underway by MSNBC. Reporters there are collecting and following stories of children an adults in Haiti who lost a limb (or limbs) in the January earthquake. The site has even asked readers to share their notes of support and knowledge as amputees.

I shared Jordan’s story on the site and she and I have started to look through the pictures and read about the many people in that country. I know we’re incredibly lucky to live where we live and get a high level of physical and occupational therapy and access to prosthetics. When I attended a conference earlier this year I met a group of grief counselors who are helping new Haitian amputees. Since I met them, they are printing out pictures and stories from this site and showing children and adults how Jordan is proof that a missing limb isn’t the end of the world.

Today I got a note from Jordan’s prosthetist, David Rotter, who told me he helped the Range of Motion Project (also known at ROMP) distribute prosthetics in Haiti while Extreme Home Makeover filmed an episode there. You have a chance to watch that tomorrow on ABC at 8pm ET/7pm CT. There are so many powerful stories that make me appreciate our life and Jordan’s access to services.