In the quiet town on the west coast of The Gambia, 26-year-old Ansumana reflects on a life shaped by a single moment on a football pitch and a mindset that helped him rebuild his life. Our own Tom Williams OBE recently met with Ansumana to talk through his story of survival, and recovery with prosthetics and rehabilitation.

A tackle that changed his life

Ansumana’s journey began in 2009 with a game of football. A tackle by an opposing player resulted in a broken leg. His family first sought help from local healers rather than formal medical attention.

Unfortunately, the leg developed a wound that became severely infected. By the time he was admitted to the hospital, two separate operations failed to save the limb. Ansumana was faced with a stark reality: amputation was the only way to save his life.

“At first it was very, very traumatic because I was informed prior… that my leg will be amputated…with the help of the family and close friends, they were there supporting me. So even when the day arrived, it was not that difficult.”

Rehabilitation

After his amputation in March 2017, Ansumana began the long road toward walking again. His recovery was made possible through the specialised work of The Gambia’s National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), which STAND is proud to support. 

The NRC doesn’t just need refurbished leg components to fit legs. STAND’s work also focuses on providing the correct tools and equipment, and facilitating the technical training required to ensure patients receive high-quality prosthetic care.

By providing the above, the NRC was able to provide the best possible outcome for Ansumana.

Ansumana was determined to get back on his feet. Though he was expected to leave the leg at the center after his initial training sessions, he insisted on taking it home to practice immediately. Within just 15 days, he was walking independently.

Amputation isn’t the end

After Ansumana’s recovery, the same doctors who cared for him asked him to speak with a mother whose son needed an amputation. He was there to tell them that amputation doesn’t mean there isn’t a future for him. Ansumana says: “even after the amputation, that doesn’t stop your life. Life is going to continue”.

Ansumana strongly encourages others to trust the specialised knowledge and equipment found at the NRC. He believes that listening to medical experts, rather than relying on local treatments, is vital to preventing the severity of these cases.

“Once we got a problem, why not we go for the people that are responsible or have the sufficient knowledge about that particular problem… rather than we just dealing with it at our own level.”

Ansumana’s hopeful message

Ansumana remains a testament to the life-changing impact of quality prosthetic rehabilitation. More importantly, his experience has provided him with a healthy perspective on life that we can all learn from:

“Yeah, it has taught me a lot of things about life. Like how we see life and how life is. Sometimes we have misinterpretations about life. Yeah, especially the ones that are with their everything…not physically challenged. Most of the time they take life for granted. And to me personally, I feel that life is not granted.”

Why your support matters

👉 Support STAND’s today, so more amputees like Ansumana can build their future.