Local Amputee Support Group Celebrates Limb Loss Awareness Month

REDLANDS >> There was only one place people could meet Daffy Duck in the Inland Empire this month, and that was The Amputee Connection of Redlands’ (ACR) Open House event at Redlands Community Hospital. An estimated number of 72 guests attended the 3rd annual event April 17 in the Weisser Education Pavilion to celebrate Limb Loss Awareness Month, bond together with peers, and learn more about life as an amputee. Mike Ward, Search-and-Rescue member with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, described to guests how Search-and-Rescue got involved with The Amputee Connection of Redlands (ACR), and kids and parents alike got to meet with the night’s “celebrity,” Daffy Duck. Bill Nessel, spokesman for ACR, explained that this event is the only time kids are brought in with the adults. Usually, formal monthly meetings are reserved for adults because of the type of discussions held, and the kids participate in Camp No Limits, a week-long venture designed to help both kids and parents adjust to their situations in life. “What we’re trying to do is educate the public on who we are, what we do and why,” Nessel said. While at the open house, guests had an opportunity to talk with one another, exchange details about their lives, and experience community. “Whenever you have a group of people together for what we do, there’s a whole lot of information that gets exchanged,” Nessel said. In 2011, the Amputee Coalition of America, which is ACR’s mother organization across the nation, designated April as Limb Loss Awareness Month. As of last year, a total of 42 states have also declared April as a month to recognize those dealing with limb loss. Three years ago, the volunteer-based support group ACR decided to get involved and hold annual open houses to bridge the gap between the ages and join amputees together in unity. They originally started out with 30 attendees but this year expanded to more than 70. ACR gets involved in the community in more ways than one, however. Several times throughout the year, the group holds booths to fundraise and continue to raise awareness. Some of the locations they frequent include Highgrove Day, Tour de Palm Springs and disability support festivals in Palm Desert and San Bernardino, to name a few. “One of the things we try to do is not only teach amputees and their caregivers how to cope with their new lives, but we try to teach the public as much as we can,” Nessel said. ACR not only gets involved on a local level, but also on a global level, through their peer visit program. A joint effort from ACR and Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital in San Bernardino, the peer visit program connects amputees from places as diverse as Brooklyn, Kentucky, Guatemala, and Tunisia to a support group through Skype. “It opens the world up,” Nessel said. Peer visits can also be conducted in person, at a rehabilitation facility or by telephone. Due to HIPPA regulations regarding patient privacy, patients must request a peer visit, which they can do by contacting Bill Nessel at wildbilln@roadrunner.com or calling him at (909) 423-0562. Another way ACR gets involved is fundraising to send kids and parents to Camp No Limits, which is an opportunity for amputees and their families to develop a healthy, happy lifestyle while dealing with their physical limitations. The camp now has 10 different locations around the nation, the closest being Pine Summit Camps in Big Bear Lake. While at the camp, kids can zip line, swim, do rope challenges and enjoy bonding with their peers through therapeutic programs designed to help with the coping process. Nessel said in the past, some Search-and-Rescue members have participated one day at the camp, bringing mounts, dogs, Sea-Doos and other resources used in Search-and-Rescue. “Camp No Limits is awesome,” Nessel said. “You don’t walk away from Camp No Limits without being touched in one form or another.” To check out upcoming events from ACR, visit their website at www.theamputeeconnection.org. If interested in Camp No Limits, go to www.nolimitsfoundation.org. The Amputee Connection of Redlands also has a Facebook page with more information on how to get involved, whether it is through donating, volunteering or becoming a part of the support group yourself.