Double amputee needs a hand to get new legs

A birth defect caused Charmonique Willis to lose both legs when she was just two years old.

She was then fitted with prosthetic legs, which she last changed in 2009. The legs, she said, have been worn and torn over the last 12 years. The prosthetic limbs, which she has long outgrown, have been causing her untold pain.

The 28-year-old Point Hill, St Catherine, resident said that she desperately wants to get the legs replaced but she cannot afford to do so.

"The last time I changed my legs was in 2009 and the reason I believe they lasted this long is because for about five years I was suffering from a knee swelling and didn't leave my home. But, in 2014, I did surgery and I pick my life up and began working in 2017," she said.

Willis, whose legs are amputated below the knees, didn't start wearing the prostheses until she was about eight years old. "I went to school in grade one and two on my knees," she said.

Patch them myself

Now a grown woman, Willis works as a customer service representative. She said that she has managed to live a fulfilling life despite her disability, but her old and tight prosthetic legs are threatening her mobility.

"I had to purchase fibre glass on Amazon and patch them myself, but now, because of the bending and the walking, they are breaking," she said.

Willis said that when she recently did an evaluation, she was told that it would cost her in the region of J$1.2 million to provide her with a new pair of legs. She said that the supplier offered her a discount, but it was still out of her reach.

"He told me that he would sell me for a J$1 million, but I cannot afford that amount so I'm asking for assistance. Right now, I have to thank God for small mercies because I am now working from home because of the pandemic, (otherwise) I know I couldn't manage with these legs," she said. Willis said that her knees are swollen and the prosthetics were causing leg spasms, so she needed painkillers.

"I am once again asking for help, no matter how small it is. I can't manage without them," she added.

Persons wishing to assist Charmonique Willis may contact her at (876) 831 9788.