Annet’s story

Advice to switch

This time the conversation went surprisingly differently! This lady told me that she also wore a prosthesis herself and that she had thought for a long time whether she should approach me. She didn’t want to hurt me, but mostly to help. I was surprised; she walked so well and I hadn’t seen her wearing a prosthesis. In turn, I told her that my stump is very short with many soft tissues and that my prosthetist had the idea that it couldn’t be any different or better. Still, she said, that was no reason not to look further. She had done that and she had been an enthusiastic customer of De Hoogstraat Orthopedietechniek and Protec for years. She allowed me to broaden my field of vision. The new system used at Protec worked excellently for her. Finally she gave me her business card. In the evening I told the incident to my husband, it was such a special encounter. After a while I took the plunge and called that lady. She gave me the telephone number of Marcel Conradi, director of De Hoogstraat Orthopedietechniek. And so I made an appointment for a second opinion.

Friendly and personal

When I entered Protec that first time, I was amazed. I was met at the door by the instrument maker in a very modern building. There was an enormous peace, there was no rush at all, it was friendly and soon felt “own”. The conversation was extensive, I was asked about my history and the things I now encounter in functioning with my prosthesis. But not only that: all kinds of video images were made of me in a special room, showing how I walked and stood, how the alignment was and how I moved with my prosthesis. That had never been done before. I thought it was all very progressive.

Annet is happy that she dared to take the step to Protec

Wearing a liner turned out to be possible

At my previous instrument workplace there were doubts whether the system with the liner would be suitable for me. I had a vacuum system and lost my prosthesis regularly. That’s why I also wore a band around my waist, to make sure that the prosthesis stayed on my body. The Protec team first looked at the possibility of putting a liner on my residual limb, so that the suspension would be better and I would no longer be able to lose my prosthesis. To my surprise, a closet was opened with a lot of liners. Everything was in stock and did not have to be ordered first. The prosthetist rolled the liner right around my stump. So it turned out that I could definitely wear a liner. All the more reason to think I could walk with this system. I noticed that people had a lot of experience with this.

The step to Protec

When we drove home I saw that not only I, but also my husband was enthusiastic and also believed that I should try this. That gave me that extra push. I decided to switch to Protec. I found that quite difficult, by the way, because I had to say goodbye to the instrument maker who had done his best for years and tell him that I would look elsewhere for my ‘salvation’.

Special experience

During the second appointment at Protec, four hours were allotted for me. I had no idea what all needed to be done, but just let it wash over me. The fitting of this tube was done directly on my body, there was no plaster or scanner involved. I arrived there around 10.30 am and started walking with my new prosthetic socket at 2.30 pm.

Individual gait training

I now wear a liner and am slowly trying to get used to the new system, which allows you to walk slightly differently. You no longer rely on your skeleton, but you use your muscles more. The tube doesn’t go all the way to my groin anymore and it feels like I’m going to lose my leg. Yet that is not the case. I’m slowly making progress and next week I’m going for a checkup. Then I will also work with Frank Dik, the walking coach. I am confident that things will turn out well and now I know that it is sometimes worthwhile to take a look behind the scenes at another company. I called the lady from the supermarket and thanks for the tip. How special can everything go!

Happy with this step!

I’ve been to Protec a number of times now, very positive moments. Of course I don’t know how the service will be in the long term. You only know how useful a company is when something goes wrong. And I haven’t experienced that yet. I am very happy that I dared to take this step.