Hardenbergh
29th August 2005, 08:21 AM
It's nice to be reminded that there are still a lot of nice, caring people in the world:
Philly Hospital Helps Indonesian Amputees
By JOANN LOVIGLIO, Associated Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- Their giggling and smiles belie the horror that Tara Aulia and Hamdani have experienced at their tender ages. Tara, 7, and Hamdani, 11, saw the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami rip through their villages in Indonesia's Aceh province and take their homes and family members. They each lost limbs, as well. On a visit Wednesday to Shriners Hospital for Children, they received something to help them in their new lives: Tara was outfitted with a prosthetic leg; Hamdani, an independent boy who loves sports and writing, received an artificial arm.
"Can I pinch somebody?" Hamdani said through an interpreter. Within seconds after Jeff Eichhorn, the hospital's director of orthotics and prosthetics, adjusted the straps across his back and shoulders that hold the arm in place, Hamdani was laughing, waving, picking up pieces of paper and shaking hands with everyone in the room.
Disabled rights activists say amputees across Indonesia face prejudice, with children often barred from schools because they are seen as a burden. Many are left at home or sent to poorly funded facilities for the handicapped.
The only rehabilitation hospital in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, was badly damaged by the tsunami and the doctor qualified to provide artificial limbs was killed.
"These children are so resilient after everything they've been through," said Elissa Montanti, founder of Global Medical Relief Fund, a New York-based charitable organization that is taking care of the children during their six-week stay in the U.S.
Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia provided the prostheses at no charge. The children will return to Indonesia on Aug. 31, following a final fitting.
Shriners Hospital Aids Tsunami Victims (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-tsunami-amputees,1,3753373.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines)
Philly Hospital Helps Indonesian Amputees
By JOANN LOVIGLIO, Associated Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- Their giggling and smiles belie the horror that Tara Aulia and Hamdani have experienced at their tender ages. Tara, 7, and Hamdani, 11, saw the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami rip through their villages in Indonesia's Aceh province and take their homes and family members. They each lost limbs, as well. On a visit Wednesday to Shriners Hospital for Children, they received something to help them in their new lives: Tara was outfitted with a prosthetic leg; Hamdani, an independent boy who loves sports and writing, received an artificial arm.
"Can I pinch somebody?" Hamdani said through an interpreter. Within seconds after Jeff Eichhorn, the hospital's director of orthotics and prosthetics, adjusted the straps across his back and shoulders that hold the arm in place, Hamdani was laughing, waving, picking up pieces of paper and shaking hands with everyone in the room.
Disabled rights activists say amputees across Indonesia face prejudice, with children often barred from schools because they are seen as a burden. Many are left at home or sent to poorly funded facilities for the handicapped.
The only rehabilitation hospital in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, was badly damaged by the tsunami and the doctor qualified to provide artificial limbs was killed.
"These children are so resilient after everything they've been through," said Elissa Montanti, founder of Global Medical Relief Fund, a New York-based charitable organization that is taking care of the children during their six-week stay in the U.S.
Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia provided the prostheses at no charge. The children will return to Indonesia on Aug. 31, following a final fitting.
Shriners Hospital Aids Tsunami Victims (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-tsunami-amputees,1,3753373.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines)