Walking Toward Dignity: Abid’s Journey with a New Limb and a New Life

Abid Husain is a father of 5 who received a prosthetic limb at Indus Hsopital after many previous unsuccessful surgeries of his leg. His leg was initially injured when he was run over by a school van at the age of 13. His flesh and skin was ripped away from his leg, and he underwent surgery in a facility in Shikarpur. However, the surgery was not done properly, and his leg became infected. Afterward, the wound healed entirely, but Abid’s foot did not return to normal, and he was unable to use it properly.

Later, Abid’s heel was pierced with something and he was wounded in a separate incident, undergoing surgery in Sukkur. However, the operation was not successful, and Abid’s foot became worse. “They kept on wrapping bandage after bandage, but no one would tell me what the actual problem was or that my foot was getting worse.”

After visiting another hospital at the advice of a friend, he underwent amputation surgery and was fitted with a prosthetic leg. However, it was faulty and it did not fit right. It was unbalanced, and Abid had difficulty finding clothes that fit and that would hide his prosthesis. He developed muscle pains in his back from the unequal distribution of weight in his legs. He recounted “Before, I couldn’t put much weight on my leg, but now I can walk freely.”

Abid used the incorrect prosthetic for a while, before he visited Indus Hospital for a separate medical issue. His difficulties were noticed by the Indus Hospital Staff and they recommended a new prosthetic limb to him, one that fit properly and allowed him easy mobility. Abid agreed and was given a new one, after which his muscle pain was resolved, and he was able to find work in a garment factory, which made special accommodations for him to support his family.

Abid has since been discharged, and lives and works in a textile and garments factory in Karachi, with his family. His treatment is in line with the SDG’s outlined by WHO, and particularly is part of SDG-10, showing that help is available to all those in need, and there doesn’t need to be anyone who cannot receive the same opportunities as another.