Students in the BYU 2ft Prosthetics Club and alumni volunteered to deliver 450 pounds of materials and assisted in producing prosthetic legs for amputee clients in the Dominican Republic from Aug. 23 to Sept. 1.
The students and alumni traveled to the Dominican Republic through 2ft Prosthetics, a nonprofit organization unaffiliated with BYU but established by BYU students in 2008.
Students in the BYU 2ft Prosthetics club have helped research and design affordable, high-quality prosthetics. They have participated in the organization's effort to gather and deliver donations to local clinics in the Dominican Republic for the past several years.
A group of 10 volunteers from the club visited a local clinic, Rehabilitación in Santa Domingo, and assisted clinicians and technicians in preparing, measuring and assembling prosthetic parts during their visit.
Ben Russon, a sophomore studying mechanical engineering, said their first day in the Dominican Republic started by sorting out and organizing the materials they brought.
He said the group participated in providing the right prosthetic size to each client by plastering the residual stump, measuring the patient's leg size, cutting materials to size and assembling the leg.
Sony Madrigal Santos, orthotics technician at Rehabilitación in Santa Domingo, explained that most common amputations happen from traffic, work accidents or diabetes, and this humanitarian work changes the lives of amputees who are underprivileged from having prosthetics.
Listening to clients' unexpected responses
Russon said talking with the clients was one of his favorite parts of the trip.
"It was really impressive how everyone I talked to had a positive outlook on their situation, and it was pretty inspiring," he said.
Alan Butcherite, a junior in mechanical engineering, said it was inspiring to see the clients thank God for the opportunity of getting a prosthetic leg.
"One of the guys we asked was like, 'What is the first thing you're going to do with your leg?' He was like, 'I am going to walk to church,'" he said.
Clip Taylor, a junior in manufacturing engineering, said it was surprising to hear from one client that losing his leg turned his life around. He said the experience helped him focus more on his family, work and things that truly mattered.
"It was not something I was expecting going on the trip, but I was really touched to see while we were there, felt so full. I was so full; I would not expect to see or observe those smiles," Taylor said.
He added that while he was talking with an eight-year-old who lost his leg in a car accident, the eight-year-old kept smiling as he shared something traumatic to him.
"He just had this positive perspective on life, and it was just what it was, and he was okay with it," Taylor said.
Taylor said he was interested in prosthetics because his three-year-old nephew does not have a hand.
He said his nephew was getting to a point where he might be interested in prosthetics.
Working with BYU students
Santos said he worked closely with BYU students, and "it was a very, very wonderful experience."
He said that the students learned fast, which surprised him as he taught some parts of clinical biomechanics.
Ephraim Ong, a senior in electrical engineering, said it was his second time traveling to the Dominican Republic with 2ft Prosthetics as a trip coordinator.
Ong said this trip was more meaningful for him than his first one, as he spent long hours at the clinic and had many conversations with the patients.
He said there is a Spanish word "convivir" which means to live with, and that the group tried to focus on building deep relationships with patients by spending more time with them.
"We all have the ability to make an impact wherever we're at," David Williams, 2ft Prosthetics executive director, said. He explained that this impact can be made first by identifying where the needs are and understanding what skills or talents to offer.
"Really donating your time and your talents and your effort to be able to help the people in need is possible no matter what you are doing," he said.
He said that in addition to engineering students, students in public health, business, nursing and even local service missionaries volunteered.
Partnering with local clinics and donors
Williams said the organization partners with local clinics with the goal of helping underserved populations.
He said the clinics are for-profit and provide charges for prosthetic services but meet plenty of clients who do not have insurance or the means to afford prosthetics.
Thus, the organization is involved in donating the supplies, and the local clinics donate their time to provide prosthetic legs for free, he said.
Many companies such as Penta Prosthetics, ST&G, Limbs for Life, Ottobock, Hanger Clinic: Prosthetics & Orthotics, Edwards Lifesciences and JetBlue provide funding and donations, supporting 2ft Prosthetics in reaching out to underserved amputees, according to Williams.
The 2ft Prosthetics organization provided 433 legs serving 408 amputees in 30 partnering local clinics.
One million new amputations occur every year and 80% of new amputees are from developing countries, according to the 2ft Prosthetics' 2023 annual report.
Starting 2ft Prosthetics
Williams said 2ft Prosthetics originated as a BYU biomedical engineering club which later became a nonprofit organization when the club won BYU’s annual Social Venture competition in 2008.
At the time, Williams said the biomedical engineering club's leadership was looking for research and service opportunities. Eventually, they considered designing low-cost medical devices.
The biomedical engineering club then opened a leg prosthetics design competition, inviting engineering students to participate in the competition. They also invited students to apply for research grants from the Office of Research and Creative Activities. These grants provided $1,500 for each application.
Williams said they organized their club into eight different groups which applied for grants separately. Four out of eight of the groups received the grants which gave them $6,000 to start prosthetic research.
The club also won $25,000 from BYU’s annual Social Venture Academy competition which a club member suggested they participate in.
Competition organizers helped the club apply to become a nonprofit organization, and that is how the BYU biomedical engineering club “stumbled into becoming” a nonprofit organization, Williams said.
The 2ft Prosthetic 2023 Annual Report said the organization reached out to amputee clients in El Salvador, Tonga, Guatemala, Micronesia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico and the Philippines since 2010.