Healthcare
A Leg To Stand On
Marshall Islands Carpenter Hemos George Learned New Skills To Build New Lives
It starts with a toe or a finger. You might see an older person—or, these days, a not-so-old person—sitting in front of the hospital with a bandaged hand or foot. A few months later, if you happened to be noticing, the person is back in front of the hospital with another bandage. Then, a bit later, in a wheelchair, with a foot or leg missing.
The sight is a familiar one in Majuro and Ebeye, the two urban centers in the Marshall Islands. Diabetes is taking its toll in this population of 52,000, as it is in most parts of the Pacific.
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Complications related to diabetes account for more than half of all hospital admissions in Majuro, according to hospital officials. And it’s not getting better.
Thirty years ago, diabetes was an illness of older people, 50 and above. Most troubling to health officials in the Marshall Islands is that, increasingly, the trend is to see younger people, even teenagers, exhibiting symptoms of diabetes. Some of the more usual symptoms of diabetes include eye and kidney problems, along with susceptibility to infections, which sometimes lead to gangrene and amputation.
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Preventive health officials in Majuro promote diet and exercise to reduce the impact of diabetes. However, health surveys confirm that the majority of adult men and women over the age of 30 are overweight or obese. The surveys also demonstrate that the prevention messages about changing eating habits and increasing exercise are not getting through, at least not to the over-30 generation.
With leg (and arm) amputations continuing unabated, diabetics have an extremely difficult time getting exercise or even being productive members of the community. Thus, sadly, their health frequently deteriorates at a rapid rate.
Enter Hemos George, Majuro hospital’s carpenter. In the latter part of 2001, the Ministry of Health sent him off to Brazil to attend a six-month prothesis-making training program. Since he returned, he’s been one of Majuro’s busiest technicians, cranking out new limbs for amputees. In early July, he had 13 people on his waiting list, having already produced about 20 new legs in 2002.
“It’s definitely improving the quality of life of the patients,” says hospital administrator Sandy Alfred. “We’re happy that we can help with that.”
Alfred says that one man flew in from Ebeye to get a new leg fitted. “I asked him to return to Ebeye and to reapply for his old job, which he lost as a result of his amputation,” Alfred says. “This is having a tremendous impact on their health as well as their productivity as citizens.”
It takes amputees weeks of practice with their new legs at the hospital’s physical therapy department to get proficient at walking. But most, if not all of them, are walking, a testament to the effectiveness and impact of George’s newly acquired prothesis-making skill.
