The National Limb Loss Resource Center (NLLRC) provides both practical and emotional resources to make amputees and their families feel supported on their journey. It connects people living with limb loss and limb difference with local resources such as vocational rehab departments that help subsidize prosthetics or for vehicle modifications.
‘Changing Minds & Changing Lives with Disability Solutions’ podcast interviewed Amputee Coalition’s Information and Referral Specialist, Aaron Burnell, about the NLLRC during Limb Loss & Limb Difference Awareness Month (LLLDAM). They discussed the various resources offered at the Amputee Coalition and tips, success stories, and upcoming community events. Both host and guest talked about the importance of creating personal connections with the people they serve by directly helping them.
“We talk a lot about resources for prosthetics like how to get and pay for one”
As an employment resource, the NLLRC uses the Job Accommodation Network, which is affiliated with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and geared towards helping employers and employees navigate workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. Similarly, Disability Solutions also helps people with employment making sure that companies are doing their part in hiring people with disabilities.
Burnell shared a success story of a family in Nevada. The son has limb difference from birth, and he was interested in cross-country, long-distance truck driving. Burnell gathered all the information he could find from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and provided that information.
“We called colleagues to figure out where he needed to go to get his evaluations,” he said. “This is a great example of what we do at the Resource Center because instead of having people who just went through a limb loss surgery look through countless websites and call a bunch of numbers to find the correct source of information, we facilitate that process for them whereby we do all the research and provide them with the contact numbers and website links.”
Burnell also shared important facts about limb difference:
- Limb loss and limb difference reach across demographics like age, race, ethnicity, and class.
- Everyday approximately 500 people in the U.S. alone have some sort of limb loss whether through surgery or are born with limb difference.
- It is estimated that by 2050 the amount of people living with limb loss/limb difference may double and part of that is due to COVID-19.Listen to the full podcast here.