And they’re really surprised to hear that insurance companies don’t cover a lot when it comes to prostheses. I only know about this issue because I am an amputee. I don’t think we get the attention that we deserve. The amputee population isn’t a huge one in the United States – there are only about 2 million of us. I’m not sure that insurance companies really understand what the needs are of amputees. You would think when it has to do with somebody’s ability to walk that shouldn’t be a question. Heather Abbott: It is frustrating to see people who can’t have what they need to live the life they want just because money’s an obstacle. Below is an edited version of their conversation. “I wanted to give back, too.”ĬNN’s Meghan Dunn spoke with Abbott about her work. Two people who did this to me yet so many more wanted to help, and that was amazing to me,” Abbott said. “There are many more good people in this world than there are bad. And while she’s helping heal others, she’s also healing herself. “It’s been really nice to see her be able to do all the things that she loves to do.”įor Abbott, this work is about more than giving someone a prosthesis it’s giving them their dignity. “She hasn’t let anything stop her,” Abbott said. Now 14, Tickel plays volleyball, basketball, lacrosse and loves riding her bike and snowboarding. Kori Tickel received her first running prosthesis when she was 8 with the help of Abbott's nonprofit “I remember the first one she named ‘Lightning’ – I guess a reflection of what she expected to be able to do with it,” Abbott said. An avid athlete, Tickel wanted a running prosthesis that would allow her to keep up with her teammates.Ībbott gifted her a running blade and has continued to help Tickel over the years as she grew out of her prostheses. Kori Tickel was one of the first recipients – a young girl who had lost her leg after a lawnmower accident when she was 2. Its beneficiaries range in age from 6 to 58 and have been gifted prostheses that allow them to wear high heels, run, swim, and play sports. Her organization has since raised more than $1 million and helped provide customized prosthetic devices to more than 42 amputees across the US. So, in December 2014, she created the Heather Abbott Foundation. “There were a lot of people out there who couldn’t do the activities they wanted to do, look the way they wanted to look, or just couldn’t afford a prosthesis at all because of the cost,” Abbott said. Often, insurance companies will only cover a basic prosthesis for walking, deeming cosmetic prostheses medically unnecessary. Through the process, Abbott learned about the high cost of customized prostheses – ranging from tens of thousands to more than $100,000. “For me, having those multiple prostheses kept my sanity intact to a certain degree – being able to do the things that I did before and being able to have some privacy about being an amputee,” Abbott said. With the help of donations and organizations that assisted the victims of the bombing, Abbott was gifted a lifelike prosthetic leg that allowed her to wear high heels again and other prostheses that allowed her to run and paddleboard. “There are all kinds of different emotions, different ways I had to learn to do things.”Ībbott received a prosthesis for walking but said insurance would not cover any additional prostheses that would allow her to live the full life she had. “It was hard to kind of come to terms with the fact that I am an amputee, at first,” she said. With the guidance of her doctors and other amputees, Abbott decided to undergo the amputation. And my foot felt like it was on fire.”įour days and three surgeries later, Abbott was faced with an agonizing decision: live a lifetime of pain or have her leg amputated below the knee. “I could see blood on the ground and a smoky haze and a ringing in my ears. “I kind of came to and I saw people just frantically running by me,” she said. Abbott, then 38, was standing near the finish line when two bombs exploded, one after another, killing three people and injuring more than 260.Ībbott was impacted by the second blast and blown into a nearby restaurant. For Abbott and her friends, catching a Red Sox game and walking through downtown Boston to watch the race had been an annual tradition.īut on April 15, 2013, their fun day turned into a nightmare. When runners cross the finish line during Monday’s 125th Boston Marathon, Heather Abbott will be there cheering them on.
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