We rescue legs from all corners of the world to maximise the number of people with limb differences walking again in sub-Saharan Africa. The stories we tell are mostly of those people directly impacted by our work on the continent but there are still so many incredible stories not being told from the different aspects of our work. It warms our hearts every time we receive a leg from a donor, and especially so when they come with a story like Keith’s. 

Thank you for reaching out to us Julie, passing on your late father’s prosthetic leg to us and sharing his story. This is what Julie had to say about her dad: 

Dad was a very humble, loving, generous and gentle man and had a very strong Christian faith. He also had a great love for children and retired as a Primary School Teacher. After our Mum passed, Dad needed to have a right below-knee amputation due to ongoing painful toe ulcers. He was 76…but his age did not stop him from having a positive outlook on his recovery and after having his car converted, continued to drive and have quite an independent life in and around his own home. Dad never complained about the pain or discomfort in his stump and he was very grateful for his prosthesis to be able to mobilise and live at home.  He continued to be extremely independent until 7 weeks before he passed when he was admitted to the hospital with breathlessness due to fluid in his lungs. After a difficult time in hospital, he decided his time was up and we took him home to care for him until he died just before Christmas. He was 93.

We were unsure what to do about his prosthetic until one friend suggested putting it in the coffin with him, but I thought that there must be a charity that would be able to reuse his leg. After ringing where he had his initial rehab, who were unable to provide direction for this, I felt quite disheartened. On a whim, I rang the Red Cross and the lovely man provided me with details of Legs4Africa. I was so delighted to get a positive response back from the team – I cried happy tears. Dad would love to think someone else would be able to have an easier life because of a prosthetic leg and so was I as I had travelled for a few months in East Africa some years ago.

Thank you again for providing such an amazing service to us and to the fortunate leg recipient.