Anton B came to us in April of 2024 through a non-profit focused on helping injured Ukrainian soldiers. (War Amputees’ Help Open Organization.) He sustained a left transfemoral amputation as the result of combat trauma. He is young and active and really wanted to get back to being able to work and run and exercise again. We helped facilitate appointments with our partners at Johns Hopkins Orthopedics and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation where he received surgical and rehabilitation services as part of his overall care. We were asked to provide new prostheses for him following his residual limb revision surgery in preparation for his return home.
The recommendation was a prosthesis for everyday use and a special use prosthesis designed for running. His needs presented a complex situation – there were a number of challenges to meet. Anton does not speak English. We had a limited budget, time, and other resources. Then we learned that the military was recalling him home by October 10th! He also wanted to get back to his family – Anton and his wife just had their first child, a baby girl. We had to work with intention and patience and push through all these things to keep those big goals in mind.
Anton and Dankmeyer had great team of people supporting this work which includes his US based non-profit sponsor who has done an incredible amount of work supporting his needs. The Dankmeyer administrative and fabrication teams worked diligently and quickly to support the clinical work and meet our deadlines. And, the Johns Hopkins Orthopedic Surgery and PM&R team provided guidance and a nearly perfect residual limb revision surgery and tireless rehabilitation service. We all worked really hard together and pushed through the issues resulting in a really good outcome.
Before he returned to Ukraine, Anton had a good prosthesis set up, and certainly enough devices and component parts to be walking and learning to run. Anton has a good arrangement to follow up in one of Ukraine’s new prosthetics/limb loss rehabilitation centers for long term care. Even after 34 years of work as a physical therapist and CPO, I professionally and personally learned a lot from our relationship. Some services can be very frustrating at times, particularly when there are barriers from externalities over which we have little to no control. Coordinating all these resources to meet these challenges and achieve success for Anton and all our clients is one of the most rewarding parts of practicing in this profession.
We wish Anton and his family safety and success in his rehabilitation. Should he visit us again, we will welcome him with open arms.
- Mark Hopkins, Dankmeyer CEO, CPO, PT – and Anton’s prosthetist.