The first time we went rappelling, we were young enough to not be freaked out by the sheer folly of it. At that age, we were more like: “Jump off a cliff and glide down on a 200-foot rope? Sign us up!” But at our current age? No way you’d get us up there as a first-timer.
So we’re that much more impressed with the amputees who took the plunge off the side of the Durant Building in downtown Flint, Michigan, this past weekend. It’s all part of a campaign to raise money for the Disability Network. Hat tip the prosthetists and clients at Bremer Prosthetics, who turned out in force and were the top fundraising team. The event raised more than $55,000, a pretty impressive haul. Full report from Channel 25 News in Flint.
Here’s everything else that’s going on:
If you’re more interested in clawing up than gliding down, applications are still open for the Kirstie Ennis Foundation’s 2nd Annual Amputee Rock Climbing Clinic. Attendees get an all-expense-paid trip to Colorado. Whether or not you choose to apply, you can support the cause with a donation.
Do dogs feel phantom limb pain after an amputation? The Journal of Veterinary Behavior looked into it, and while they didn’t get a definitive answer, they learned some interesting stuff about canine recovery from limb loss.
Our buddy John Robinson, the founder of JobsAbility and a quadruple amputee, notched his first hole-in-one on a 105-yard par 3. Eat your hearts out, able-bodied duffers.
Another friend of Amplitude, recent guest contributor Dana Lawson, is back in the news after her successful marathon run on crutches earlier this year. For her next challenge, she’s hiking up the highest mountain in Maine.
Congratulations to Dominican basketball phenom Hansel Emmanuel Donato Domingez, an upper-limb amputee since age 6, on receiving a Division 1 hoops scholarship from Tennessee State.
The folks at MIT just never stop tinkering, do they. Seems like they have some new breakthrough in prosthetic technology every week. The latest and greatest, called magnetomicrometry, gives users greater control than ever over their devices.
Anybody want to try a prosthetic socket made from scraps of recycled plastic? The line starts at De Montfort University, Leicester UK.