Amputation; Artificial limbs; Orthopedics; Surgery, Military
This matter seems to have received very little special attention in
connection with amputation cases. It is, however, of great utility to
develop the strength and agility of the remaining limbs by suitable
gymnastic exercises, to teach a man with only one leg, for example,
to jump without an artificial limb and to climb a slippery rope or a
ladder; or to train the left hand of a man who has lost his right;
to develop the greatest possible strength in the stump by training
it in movement combined with the exertion of force. In addition to
this, early and provisional equipment with artificial limbs must
become general. These temporary limbs are undoubtedly rudimentary
contrivances, but they are functionally good and are useful on account
of their mere weight.
In this connection the temporary arms used by Nové-Josserand and
Bouget in their agricultural re-education centre are very interesting
models. The great advantage of using a temporary limb is that the
time required for the construction of the permanent apparatus, often
a considerable period, is not lost in idleness, the mother of all the
vices.
II
It was said at the beginning of the last chapter that whenever
possible a disabled man should be given a real trade and not one of
those frivolous and trifling occupations which were at one time the
fashion.
In the choice of a trade the ruling principle is that of aiming to
restore as nearly as possible the man's former occupation. This
principle should not, however, be carried to an extreme.
As Camus has justly said, by his previous work a man has stored up
a mass of ideas, a fact which is too little realised, especially by
himself. These include the manner of choosing, holding, and attacking
the materials upon which he works, and of appreciating their qualities
and faults; knowledge of their market value, of the value of the
labour, etc. This should be utilised in his future work even though it
be realised, as M. Bourillon has remarked, that the resumption of his
trade in its entirety may be impossible.
With the tools that have been described a man who has lost his forearm
may be able, for example, to undertake a locksmith's work and to
execute correctly all the movements required in plying the trade.
Granted; but how long will he take to make one piece, let us say,
as well as his neighbour? If he produces little he will not find an
employer to give him daily work, while if he does piecework, apart
from the fact that it is not in good repute among those who are the
actual leaders of the working classes, it will not be remunerative,
and to earn 3 frs. a day when a comrade earns 10 or 12 frs. is
practically an impossible solution.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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