Limb Loss Awareness Month
The Amputee Support Group often meets outside of the medical center for fun activities like bowling.
Amputation, it’s one of worst things that can happen to a person. Whether from combat or disease, losing a limb is traumatic, life-altering and permanent. The Medical Center’s Amputee Clinic’s multidisciplinary team stands ready to provide support through every stage of the Veteran’s healing process.
For the rest of their lives, Veterans who’ve lost limbs will have unique, complex and ever-changing health care needs. Using a holistic (whole person) approach, the Amputation Clinic team provides services at different stages of the Veteran’s life: from inpatient care for those who’ve recently lost a limb, to rehabilitation, podiatry, vascular services, prosthetic fittings, and outpatient care.
The multidisciplinary team is part of the Veterans Health Administration Amputation System of Care (ASoC) and includes in-house physiatrists, physical therapists and prosthetists (those who fabricate limbs) as well as other specialists brought in as needed on an individualized basis.
Having the services and specialties under one roof is not only a matter of convenience, it translates to better care. For example say a Veteran is having an issue with his or her prosthetic--the prosthetists, therapists and Veterans are able to work closely together to quickly maximize the prosthetic’s fit and function.
A big part of the team’s job is to help Veterans regain and keep a sense of self and independence as they heal from the physical and emotional trauma that comes from experiencing such a profound loss. Educational programs such as driver’s rehabilitation and monthly support groups help restore independence and provide emotional care and invaluable connections.
Lindsay Crowell, a Physical Therapist and the Amputee Rehabilitation Coordinator, says the Amputee Support Group is a vital component of recovery. The support group meets the first Wednesday of every month at noon in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation occupational therapy clinic. Dr. Crowell says the group helps Veterans come to terms with the physical, emotional and social aspects of their loss. “Never underestimate the power of camaraderie,” she said. “They realize they are stronger than they knew.”
The Amputee Clinic team has been improving the lives of Veterans who have lost limbs for the past five years and is now expanding its services beyond the walls of the medical center with the use of telehealth. The Amputee Clinic also offers an Amputee Telehealth Clinic at Fort Belvoir, Virginia once a month where Veterans can meet with their specialists over a secure video line.
The team now provides telehealth services where Veterans can communicate with their providers via a secure computer or iPad in the comfort of their own home. The team also has plans to expand the Amputee Telehealth Clinic to other VA community clinics in the area.
For more information about the Amputee Telehealth Clinic or the Amputee Support Group, contact Lindsay Crowell, 202-745-8000 ext. 57613.
