30-07-2010 - Adwoa's first appointment at Livit orthopedics
Last Tuesday, Adwoa had her first appointment at Livit orthopedics in Leiden. She was very excited, woke up very early that morning and was even more quiet than before, for the rest of the day. At Livit, she, Mariette and Dorien were welcomed by Nils van Grunsven, manager of the Leiden branch of Livit. He introduced them to two prosthesists, Wim and Marco. First of all, they wanted to know what was wrong with the current prosthesis. The main problem is that her knee joint cannot bend well and sometimes, for example when entering the car, she has to kick it several times before it bends. When walking too, the knee is troubling her. She keeps her leg stiff and therefore has to swing her leg sideways when she takes a step. Nils, Wim and Marco confirmed this.
They took a look at the prosthesis and concluded that, although it is a proper artificial leg according to Ghanaian standards, there were a number of things that were not functioning well. The hip joint for example, doesn’t allow her to walk naturally for it is unable to bend backwards. The men too, could not bend the knee joint well. They went away with the prosthesis to make a plan, but came back with a new knee joint in her leg. Adwoa put it on and Mariette and Dorien found it hard not to cry when they saw how much of an improvement this already was. She didn’t swing her leg up as high as before and started bending her new knee immediately. Moreover, Wim and Marco had already replaced the cover, around it. Her leg was now without cracks and tape. At this moment there are white stockings around it, but in the end, Marco and Wim promised, she will have two black legs.
Later on, they came up with more plans for parts of her leg that need to be replaced. While they were talking, Adwoa found out that it would also be possible to have a foot with a gap between the big toe and the rest of the toes. In that way, Adwoa would be able to wear slippers like practically all other Ghanaians! Adwoa was very happy to hear this!
Adwoa’s greatest wish was to get rid of the belt that now keeps the prosthesis in place. When she tried new clothes on the black market in Beverwijk, for example, it also striked Mariette and Dorien how difficult it is for her to find some trousers that fit well because her hips are much more wide because of the belt. Wim and Marco noticed that the belt was too tight and must have been paining her, even though she herself said it didn’t. Probably, she is used to pain in general because she just walked away when they had changed the knee joint, while many Dutch prosthesis patienets are very careful and aware of even the smallest sign of pain.
Wim and Marco knew a solution for the belt. Instead of that one, she will get a ‘sock’ made of silicon that she has to wear around her upper leg. A ‘pin’ is attached to the ‘sock’ and can be clicked into the actual prosthesis. That is how the prosthesis is kept in place. The ‘sock’ had to be ordered. When it is there, they will make a cast so that the new prosthesis will fit perfectly. This was not the case now and that was another reason why she swung her leg. After that, there will be another appointment to try the new prosthesis and then there will be a fourth one to do the final adjustments. Adwoa is very grateful for what Livit has done for her so far!
