Eighteen months after the Haiti earthquake, four female amputees tell us their inspiring stories of how they are rebuilding their lives.
Reynane: Eight-year old Reynane lost a limb in the aftermath of the disaster, which struck Haiti in January 2010. The little girl was trapped under the rubble. She was lucky enough to be rescued alive, but sadly her leg could not be saved.
After being discharged from the hospital, our rehabilitation experts assessed Reynane and built her a custom-made prosthetic leg. Amazingly, just a few weeks later, she was walking again, unaided.
Myriam: Myriam was at home with her son when the earthquake struck. Seriously injured by a concrete block, her husband rushed her to the hospital. Her leg, however, had to be amputated at the femur.
Fitted with a prosthesis by our team in Haiti, Myriam revisits her home for the first time and shows us the destruction. She has been able to go back to her job at the library and is happy at least to have been able to regain her place in society.
Maryse: Maryse was badly injured when a wall collapsed on her and crushed her foot. The wound became infected, and doctors had to amputate her foot in order to save her life. For Maryse, this was the start of a long and painful process of rehabilitation.
However, she never lost hope. After being fitted with an artificial limb at our rehabilitation center, Maryse made a remarkable recovery. She is now working at the center herself, helping with the day-to day running of the center and she is an example to other patients.
Islande: Nineteen-year-old Islande's foot was crushed after her house collapsed in the earthquake. Here we follow her through the rehabilitation process and being fitted with an artificial limb at Handicap International's center in Port-au-Prince. Islande is still living in a shelter that she shares in a makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince. But she is back in school and she is thinking about the future.