The coming danger
The biggest cause of amputations is not childhood lawnmower accidents like Monica Prestridge ’ s — it ’ s diabetes . According to the Amputee Coalition of America , there are 2.2 million people with limb loss , but that number is expected to double by 2050 , and the rise in diabetes cases is to blame .
A 2017 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found diabetes cases in the U . S . increased from about 2 million in 1958 to almost 24 million in 2015 — a growth from 1 % of the population to about 7.5 % in 57 years .
Diabetes — a disease in which the body ’ s ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin is impaired — is linked to two other conditions that raise the chances of foot amputation , according to an article on WebMD : Peripheral artery disease ( PAD ) and diabetic neuropathy .
PAD can narrow the arteries that carry blood to the legs and feet and make ulcers and infections more likely , the article said . With reduced circulation , those things heal more slowly .
Neuropathy is nerve damage , and the WebMD article said high blood sugar can damage both nerves and blood vessels . If nerves in the feet or legs are damaged , a person could get a cut or other injury on his foot and not know it until it gets infected . That raises the risk of serious infection or gangrene , which is the death of the tissue . In some cases , the only way a doctor can treat the infection or gangrene is to remove the area that ’ s infected . n
Life Unlimbited Support Group meets the 2nd
Tuesday of each month .
“ The more mobile we are , the less chance we ’ ll have further health problems ,” Prestridge said .
The group recently sponsored a golf tournament to raise money . Just days later they were sharing their experiences with a group in Birmingham , Ala ., that was considering starting a similar organization .
Life Unlimbited collaborates with a group in Tallahassee , and they ’ re considering offering a weekend swim clinic at both places — the Moultrie YMCA on Saturday and a Tallahassee site on Sunday — in connection with the Orthotic and Prosthetic Activities Foundation . Many details are left to work out , but Prestridge expects it to happen after the first of the year .
Also in the works is a minicamp for children with an amputation . The target date is sometime next year .
Life Unlimbited is also considering hiring a physical therapist who can provide care to amputees after their Medicare or insurance runs out , Prestridge said .
“ We ’ re trying to help — whatever that looks like ,” she said .
For more information about Life Unlimbited :
• Visit www . lifeunlimbitedinc . org .
• Email Monica Prestridge at monica @ lifeunlimbitedinc . org .
• Or call her at ( 229 ) 456-0726 .
54 MoultrieScene JANUARY 2022