Getting back on his feet again with brand new hands
View(s):The effort of the doctors at Police Hospital and public support have enabled Jeevantha de Silva who lost his limbs while on routine duty
to be hopeful of the future
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
He leaves for Mumbai, India, tonight not on a tour or shopping spree but to get the pair of hands he sorely needs. Kurukulasuriya Patabendige Viraj Jeevantha de Silva, 27, from Kuda Maskeliya, had both his hands blown off on September 24, last year (2012) while performing routine duty, clearing out a barrel from a storage room at the 10th milepost Special Task Force (STF) camp in Pottuvil. The blast also blinded him in his left eye. Among the pieces of old uniforms had been a pressure mine.
Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
What does a young man, with his whole life ahead of him do, without his hands? Feeling acutely the plight of disabled Jeevantha who was at the Police Hospital in Narahenpita, the doctors got activated not only to nurse him back to health but also to give him a reasonable quality of life.
After a careful search, the Police Hospital’s Consultant Surgeon, Dr. Rohana Vidanage and the Surgical Unit’s Medical Officer, Dr. Dinuka Seneviratne, working with the National Hospital’s Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Dhammika Dissanayake, picked not just artificial limbs for Jeevantha but functional hands. Otherwise this young man, sans both hands, would still be dependent on others to travel about and eke out a living.
The choice was myoelectric upper-limb prosthetics available along with rehabilitation in Mumbai. Myoelectric prosthetics, custom fitted and attached to the remaining part of the limbs, use electronic sensors to detect minute muscle, nerve and EMG (electro-myographic) activity and translate this muscle activity into information that its electric motors use to control the artificial limbs’ movements.
These artificial limbs’ move much like natural limbs, according to the mental stimulus of the user. The user can even control the strength and speed of the limbs movements and grip by varying his muscle intensity. Acute sensors and motorised controls enable greater dexterity, allowing the manipulation and use of small items like keys through functioning fingers, a web search by the Sunday Times reveals.
Next was the issue of cost – Rs. 4 million for the full package with familiarisation on how to use them. With Jeevantha’s family being in dire straits, his Special Task Force “brothers” under Commandant Deputy Inspector General Ranawana, stepped in to dig deep into their pockets to collect a huge Rs. 2.4 million to give hope that what seemed like a Herculean task could be achieved.
The Sunday Times too chipped in by publishing the tragic story of Jeevantha (‘Oh! For a pair of hands again on January 13) and generous donors responded immediately. Meanwhile through personal contacts Jeevantha was able to muster the support of his old schools, Saman Eliya Vidayalaya, Maskeliya, Sylvester College, Kandy and Sri Pada College, Hatton, as well as those working at the Maskeliya CEB, Post Office, Hospital and Cooperative; the Hatton Police and the Central Provincial Council. The collection was Rs. 800,000, making a total of Rs. 3.2 million with the STF contributions.
Jeevantha will be back from Mumbai in two weeks with a pair of brand new hands to get on with his life and help his aged mother run the tea kiosk that keeps the home fires burning.
Help Jeevantha bridge the cost
The amount needed is Rs. 4 million and Jeevantha has in his account Rs. 3.2 million. Please help him to bridge the gap of Rs. 800,000 by making a small contribution to Joint Account No. 178200280008337 at the Maskeliya People’s Bank, K.P.V. Jeevantha de Silva has with his mother, S.P. Lalitha. A joint account has been necessitated as Jeevantha cannot sign any documents.
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