Featured Patient Stories
Prosthetic Fitting: Prosthetic Foot
Patient Story:
CR had Charcot Foot for 21-22 years and she had all types of problems with it, off and on throughout the years. Every time something would happened with her foot the doctor’s advice was always to have a foot amputation. As with many patients, CR was resistant to the idea of an foot amputation. As a result of CR’s Charcot foot she was constantly having special shoes made and other procedures done over the course of 20 years. CR would eventually have an incident where a foot amputation was necessary. When she learned the news she stated, “It wasn’t any great shock that I had to have this done, there was no drama involved. Doctors had been recommending a foot amputation for years, so I knew eventually it would happen.”
Question & Answer:
Q: Following your foot amputation, have you been fit with a prosthetic before? Was it with us? If so, how was the experience different?
A: Initially I was not with POSI when I had my first prosthetic fitted. Now that I look back I don’t think that he fitted me correctly, at all. I was fitted with a regular suction with a sleeve. I lost 5 months of my life with consistently not being fitted correctly and I never went back to that practice. I lost 5 months out of my life because of a poorly fit leg. I eventually had to switch back to an older leg in order to walk and function. Because of this, I switched prosthetist to Ben, at POSI, by recommendation of others in my support group.
Q: How did you find out about POSI?
A: After ill-fitting foot prosthetic from a different prosthetic practice, a bunch of people that I know from my amputee support group said to go to POSI. They said, “Go to Ben, you’ll like him.” So I did, and now I have been with POSI for 3 years.
Q: What can you share about your experience with getting fitted with a prosthetic?
A: First, it was much better than the experience I had with fittings from different prosthetic practices. POSI was professional, timely, and walked me through every step of the process.
Q: From start to finish, who was your favorite staff member from POSI? Why?
A: Ben, he was with me from start to finish in the prosthetic fitting process for my foot prosthetic.
Q: What is some advice you would give to others who have had a foot amputation and are looking to get fitted with a prosthetic?
A: It’s tough, because typically what people do after their foot amputation is that a doctor will say we use this specific prosthetic practice and to go to them and the people don’t really shop around for a place to get fitted. Join a amputee support group even if you think you don’t need it. I think you learn more if you join a support group and being with other people who have been through the same thing. Go to the meetings. You can see the different people with the different prosthetics and hear their stories. Our group is more of an educational group where guest speakers come. You learn a lot when joining a support group.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience with POSI?
A: I know that if there is ever a problem such as a wrong fit it would be taken care of professionally and timely at POSI and they would never mislead me. I knew Ben and the rest of the staff at POSI would take the necessary steps to make things right if I ever ran into a problem. Their company policies keep them to a high standard.
“POSI was professional, timely, and walked me through every step of the process.”
– CR
