Amputees Leroy Douthit , Jim Young and Mick Savage teamed up with Thomasville High School student golfer Matthew Mullins at Life Unlimbited ’ s first golf tournament — “ Hitting the Links for Limb Loss ” — at Sunset Country Club in November 2021 .
Amputees Buddy Nolen and Shabrella Priester enjoy Game Night , one of the many social events sponsored by Life Unlimbited .
“ It showed us what a tremendous need there was in this area ,” Prestridge said .
The next week , the coronavirus hit . The hospital shut down all non-essential services to focus on treating COVID patients .
“ Just like the rest of the world I had to learn Zoom ,” Prestridge said .
For the next few months , the group — now named “ Life Unlimbited ” — met online , but as COVID restrictions eased , other needs also became apparent .
Life Unlimbited began planning a Care Closet to provide donated wheelchairs , crutches and other supplies for people in need .
Ron Andrews of Albany was an active volunteer with the group , but he didn ’ t live to see the Care Closet become a reality . He died in June , and his family gave his prosthesis and supplies to the Closet .
“ His items were the first donation we received ,” Prestridge recalled .
The Care Closet was named in Andrews ’ honor .
The Closet provides wheelchairs , crutches , canes , etc ., for local people who need them , Prestridge said . Used prosthetics are a different situation , because each prosthesis must be manually fit to each recipient . She said Rick Williams of Central Orthotics picks up the used prostheses and takes them apart .
“ The parts of the prostheses that can be used again we ship to Hope to Walk ,” she said . Hope to Walk is an international charity providing prosthetic devices in Honduras , Guatemala , Haiti and Vietnam . ( Learn more at hopetowalk . org .)
“ Used prosthetic parts cannot be used again in the United States ,” she said , “ but they can be
52 MoultrieScene JANUARY 2022