1st National Prosthesis Walkathon tomorrow

The 1st National Prosthesis Walkathon will be held tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. in Baywalk, Roxas Boulevard in Manila to showcase the life-changing impact of prostheses among amputees.

The walkathon was organized by the Mobility Amputee Support Group of the University of the Philippines’ Mu Sigma Phi Fraternity, through the Walking Free Program of the Physicians for Peace and UP-Philipine General Hospital’s Prosthetics Service.

According to Dr. Penny Bundoc, program coordinator, the event was conceptualized to make the public aware that modern prostheses technology is availble now at the PGH at lower costs. “Prosthesis is not popular in the Philippines because it is (known to be) very expensive. But we want the public to know that we now have the capability to do prosthesis,” she told The STAR.

Prosthesis is a device, like an artificial leg, that replaces a part of the body. It is estimated that there are one million Filipinos who lose a leg or both legs and 60 percent of them are aged 20 to 50, the most productive years in a man’s life. Bundoc said that diabetes is the primary cause of amputations in the Philippines, followed by accidents, birth defects and cancer.

The expert noted that amputees have better chances in mainstream society if they have artificial limbs. “Prosthesis is very important for their functional recovery.” She added that those who are not capable of using prosthesis due to poor health conditions are given wheelchairs.

The walkathon is part of the 75th “year of brotherhood and service” of the fraternity and it also coincided with the Centennial year of PGH. It serves as a token of appreciation by the prosthesis beneficiaries to their donors.

The commercial prices of below-the-knee and above-the knee prosthesis are around P80,000 and P120,000, respectively. But Bundoc assured that if the artificial limbs are done at the PGH, they woud cost P10,000 and P20,000 “for the indigents.”

“Those who have money can also have their prosthesis there but the price is different. They also have to subsidize an indigent,” Bundoc said.

Since the program began in 2005, around 300 amputees have already benefitted. Mu Sigma Phi and Physicians for Peace have partnered with local government units and non-government organizations to reach out patients in Zamboanga City, Occidental Mindoro, Bicol, Pangasinan, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro, Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan and Zambales, among others.