~ Siva Gopal Thaiyalan

Jason Leong is a double below knee amputee who truly believes the value of sport and movement in a person’s life, regardless of abilities. The Made for More Initiative was birthed by Jason and some friends who believe that it is possible to help improve someone’s quality of life by improving their ability to move. Made for More is currently a volunteer-run, ground-up initiative that hopes to provide amputees or limb difference with easier access funds to help with the making of prosthetics.

Amputees’ evolving needs
All amputees will experience a reduction or fluctuation in the volume of their residual limb upon frequent use of prosthetics. Hence the need to replace prosthetic sockets once they no longer fit well. This will enable users to maximise the use of their prosthetics for activities of daily living, such as walking, simple housework, cooking, commuting, and participating more actively in family and community activities.Having a prosthetic is akin to owning a car. It needs to be professionally maintained on a regular basis, parts need to be changed once faulty, and [a replacement is often required] after 5 years. This is a strain to the amputees’ finances.

Crowdfunding for Renuka’s and Nannan’s prosthetics
Renuka and Nannan have not made new prosthetics for years, because of the prohibitively high costs involved. The two were referred to Jason by the Amputee Support Group (ASG), which focuses on amputees’ psychosocial needs. Founded in 2010, the ASG is a collaboration between the Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital Care and Counselling Department, and Tan Tock Seng Hospital Rehabilitation Centre. Ray of Hope is in contact with ASG and our caseworkers will interview Renukan and Nannan before any funds are disbursed directly to the prosthetics company.

This campaign aims to raise $20,000 for:
Renuka – a pair below knee prostheses (est. $6K) + a upper limb prosthesis (est. $7K)
Nannan – 1 artificial knee (est. $7K)

As the costs are estimates, any excess/undisbursed funds from this campaign will go towards Ray of Hope clients facing similar challenges.

 

About Renuka

Renuka is a quadruple amputee. This means she is a bilateral below knee and bilateral below elbow amputee. Her amputation is due to complications from a prolonged stay in the ICU due to pneumonia (background of asthma). Once an exemplary nurse from KKH, she was never able to regain employment once she completed her rehabilitation with TTSH. She also has an autoimmune condition which causes severe rashes and itch. Despite all that she has gone through, she still gamely agreed to be trained as a befriender for the ASG, willing to share her experience with other persons with new amputations.

Renuka is dependent on her helper to assist with her activities of daily living, ambulation (to don prosthetics and assistance to walk) and wheelchair mobility. She is keen to also purchase a motorised wheelchair to be independent to move about. She has not had a change in prosthetics since she made a pair post amputation. She has also mentioned that her left prosthesis is loose, despite the addition of socks. Renuka walks around her house and is able to go out using her prosthetic legs. However, the legs no longer fit well because the volume of the stumps are shrinking. In order to continue walking, she needs another pair of prosthetic legs. She also hopes to be able to have at least one prosthetic hand so that she can learn to write or cook again.

Renuka lives with her husband and helper. Her husband was retrenched at around the same time that Renuka was hospitalised. He now drives a taxi and takes home just enough for their sustenance. She mentioned her savings has been depleted due to her frequent hospital admissions.

More information about Renuka can be found here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Nannan

Nannan was initially hospitalized for heart complications in 2017 and her condition quickly deteriorated and she was put on life support. Various complications led to the amputation of her leg above the knee. She has also gone through a number of operations in the past to remove her adrenal and thyroid glands, and is on long term steroids. Her son was still very young when she had her amputation, yet Nannan remained strong and positive throughout her rehabilitation at TTSH.

Last year, Nannan delivered her 2nd child and this means there is 1 more person to run after. Selecting the ideal prosthetic componentry will enable her to “run without limits”. Today she uses an above knee prosthesis to move around and take care of her 2 young boys.

An artificial knee usually would last for about 5 years before wearing out. She has been using hers for six years already. She is raising money to get a new artificial knee before the current one wears out.

About Ray of Hope

100% of your donations through Ray of Hope goes to people in need. We do not take a cut from the funds. We even cover the 3rd party credit card charges, if you choose not to, that other crowdfunding platforms deduct from your donation for campaigns.

100% of all campaigns are also fully verified, so you know your funds goes to real people with real needs.

We take donor accountability very seriously – with yearly audited accounts and strong governance in place to ensure that your donations is properly channeled to the beneficiaries.

Ray of Hope is a registered charity and a member of the National Council of Social Service.