Aad’s story

What could they do for you?

The vascular occlusion had to be resolved as soon as possible, but my blood count was too bad to undergo surgery. I therefore immediately had chemotherapy and tried to save my legs with all kinds of resources, but in the end it turned out that this was not feasible for my left leg. After blood transfusions my condition became more stable and my leg was amputated above the knee on December 20th.

How did you find a good instrument maker?

For my prosthesis I ended up with an instrument maker who was affiliated with the hospital through my rehabilitation doctor. The employees were very nice, but I was not well informed. I told them that I wanted to cycle and indicated what I wanted to do again, but no one could properly inform me about a suitable prosthesis concept. I also got a very old mechanical knee with a broken spring, which made me lose confidence in my knee. When I asked about a process to apply for a C-leg, people had many reservations about it, probably because they did not have the expertise in-house. The rehabilitation doctor therefore referred me to another instrument workshop. I ended up there in December 2017. But again things didn’t go well. With the prosthetic socket I received I could not sit and cycle. In addition, I had a very cold stump and many blisters. When I mentioned that I was worried, given my past, it wasn’t really addressed. For example, I also asked for a brimless socket. They thought I didn’t qualify. The C-leg was put under the socket, but I had a lot of problems with that. Every time I wanted to come by for the solution of those problems, I had to wait endlessly. They thought I should just take the prosthesis off for a few days. That definitely didn’t feel right and I didn’t think it was customer friendly. The company that supplied the C-leg was very willing to help, but the instrument makers were nowhere to be seen when the representative arrived. Finally, after many problems, I requested a second opinion from De Hoogstraat Orthopedietechniek / Protec. I didn’t find that easy, because you don’t want to offend anyone. Still, I felt it was really necessary.

‘Finally I am in the right place!’

Did you finally make an appointment?

I found the possibility of a second opinion on the website of De Hoogstraat Orthopedietechniek and sent an email. That same day I received a call from the director, who invited me a few days later to Protec, the leg prosthesis expertise center in Amsterdam. I thought it was a beautiful and special location. The special thing was that two people took all the time for me and that people were not surprised that I had already been to two other instrument makers. After my story, the director said: “You have had a long breath”, and that statement alone made me feel so enormously confirmed. In fact, I could cry at that moment. With happiness, but also with sadness because of the year I had wasted by not solving the problems I indicated (loose C-leg attachment to socket and painful stump with poor blood circulation) and unfriendly customer service.

How did Protec help you?

The way I was helped was so different from what I was used to. It was there that I was first asked what kind of prosthesis I wanted. I knew there was a brimless variant and that was possible there. The following week I was able to return immediately. The first few days I had the feeling that I was walking with elastic legs while wearing the brimless socket. I thought I could never walk with it. That turns out to be quite normal because you have to tighten other muscles. After fourteen days, moving felt much more natural.

What do you think of the services provided by Protec?

I was given the space to say what I wanted. I was asked a lot of questions. What are the problems? What is the request for help? What do you want us to do? What are you running into? Then we were told what was possible. Supply and demand were matched. It was a collaboration rather than the imposition of a concept. A complete process was followed here. After I received my prosthesis I had an extensive gait analysis and the prosthesis was aligned very well. At the moment I am following physiotherapy and soon I will receive my definitive socket. Finally I’m in the right place!