“I am going to get my foot for the Christmas!” declared an elated Ethon Miller, who was one of two recipients of a prosthetic leg at Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre last Wednesday.

Miller and 67-year-old Lester Spaulding each received a prosthetic leg under the Ministry of Health and Wellness’s ‘New Limb, New Life’ programme.

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer, Spaulding explained that after losing a leg two years ago he had to get creative in order to remain mobile.

“I made my own leg. I had the knowledge to do a lot of things so that was what came to me so I could help myself because with one leg I couldn’t do anything, and since I made the leg I could do more because I drive and take my kids to school,” he said.

He further explained that he lost his leg during an incident at his daughter’s home but noted that it was his ignorance about his diabetic condition, alongside the injury, that forced him to get his leg amputated.

“My daughter left the house, as I was the caretaker for it and when she left I looked out the gate and it wasn’t proper for her to come back and see it like that, so I said I am going clean it up and burn some stuff. While I was burning, the breeze blew the fire and it went into a man’s yard where his car was parked so when I saw the fire I started to rush and go out the fire,” he said as he recalled the tragic incident.

“The jump I made caused the fire to burn me, plus the macca [thorn] stick me, and from that I didn’t take it seriously because I did not know that I had diabetes and it turned out to a point where they said my foot cannot be saved because there was poison in it and they said I had to cut it.”

Spaulding said that despite the constant pain he felt, he was hesitant to lose his leg but did not have much of a choice.

He expressed immense gratitude to everyone who made it possible for him to get his new leg, describing it as a “joyful” moment for him to get it just in time for Christmas.

The other recipient, Miller, a police officer in Westmoreland’s Criminal Investigations Branch (CIB), shared his appreciation for the new prosthetic leg.

Miller’s left leg was amputated in February, 30 years after being shot in the knee.

“I have suffered for 30 years since, but the injuries got worse over the last 10 years in which the muscles, nerves and tendons deteriorated. As a result of that, doctors had to amputate the leg,” Miller said.

“I am feeling 150 per cent better since having my leg amputated…I am living a better life now, no pain, no discomfort so I am giving God thanks. I was feeling a lot of pain and discomfort and the foot was 75 per cent deformed because of the nerves and the tendons that were damaged over the years,” he said.

Miller acknowledged that even though his tasks at the CIB are office-based, the prosthetic leg will be transformative for his life, making everyday activities easier to accomplish.

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton, who was in attendance, explained that the initiative goes beyond supplying prosthetic legs. It aims to raise awareness about diabetes.

“Ninety-five per cent of these people who lose a limb is because of complications from diabetes. And we really want to use the opportunity to urge Jamaicans to get their check-ups in the first instance but also to celebrate the New Limb, New Life programme which is giving a number of Jamaicans the opportunity to have a leg replacement and basically giving them a second opportunity to move around,” Tufton explained.