Nine years after a minibus accident left him unable to walk, Uttamkumar Isurdeen has finally taken a step, which he says is only the beginning.
Isurdeen, 34, suffered spinal cord damage in the 2010 accident and has been using a wheelchair since then for mobility.
However, according to a Department of Public Information (DPI) report, he was able to take a step for first time since the accident after an intervention through the collaboration of the Ministry of Public Health, Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and ProsthetiKa, an international agency with the mission of restoring mobility to persons with disabilities in developing countries.
The report noted that collaborators started work at the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre to provide orthotics by utilising multidisciplinary measures to address spinal injuries and abnormalities. It said a prosthetic brace was made to support Isurdeen’s hips, knees, ankles and feet to assist him with relative moment.
He says it has changed his life and “it is only the beginning.”
ProsthetiKa’s President, Jon Batzdorff, told DPI that he never expected Isurdeen to be walking on the very first day after trying the brace. He noted that minor adjustments would be made which will allow him to walk more ably with support from the orthosis (brace).
“We made this HKAFO – Hip, Knee, Ankle, Foot – Orthosis and it was a big job. Everybody worked on this job. So, he put it on and was ready to try it to stand up independently. He stood and waved… that was another victory,” he noted.
According to Batzdorff, ProsthetiKa changes people’s lives and is happy to have given Isurdeen the opportunity to be mobile again.
Although the braces could cost hundreds of thousands of Guyana dollars, ProsthetiKa’s services are provided free of charge to beneficiaries.
Recalling his accident, Isurdeen said he was in the front passenger seat of a minibus which was being driven at a reckless rate and it flipped several times, seriously injuring those on board. “Since then, up until now, I thought it was a huge setback. However, I didn’t think about giving up despite there [being] no advanced technology which would help me to walk again. But, today is the day after nine years I took my first set of steps. It was a breakthrough for me to get a brace, to stand up,” he was quoted as saying.
The report said Isurdeen is to begin a new job in an administrative capacity soon and is excited to be working again since the orthosis will play a major role. He noted that while using the wheelchair for mobility he kept himself active by being heavily involved in sports, particularly in 5k and 10k races that are hosted around the country, along with other athletic activities. He added that his wife and his nine-year-old son remain his sources of support and motivation.
