Published: Friday June 20, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM

Updated: Friday June 20, 2014 MYT 8:35:48 AM

Walk of hope for amputees
BY MAJORIE CHIEW

Poor amputees need not be out on a limb, thanks to the humanitarian efforts of Thai surgeon Therdchai Jivacate.
Photos from Prostheses Foundation of HRH The Princess Mother


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A Thai orthopaedic surgeon has devoted his life to making free
prosthetic limbs for poor amputees.
WHEN he was a young lad, Assoc Prof Dr Therdchai Jivacate loved to read
about air raids and aeroplanes. He imagined that one day he would take off to
conquer the skies as an air force pilot. But his parents disapproved of this.
They drilled some sense into Therdchai, the second of five children. Their
words sank in and set him thinking about his future.
Somehow, he knew they were right and decided to choose a career path that
would please his parents and make them proud of him.
He decided to study medicine. In 1965, Therdchai graduated from the Faculty
of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.
Initially I wanted to be a neurosurgeon. But after working with the disabled, I
felt moved to help them correct any leg deformities, said Dr Therdchai, 73, an
orthopaedic surgeon. He is secretary-general of the Prostheses Foundation of
HRH The Princess Mother of Thailand based in Chiang Mai.
Dr Therdchai was in Malaysia early this year for the launch of Limbs for Life
Prostheses Centre in Petaling Jaya, an initiative by the Bandar Utama
Buddhist Society, Selangor.
In 1968, Dr Therdchai headed for the United States for a four-year stint as a
resident of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Northwestern University in
Evanston, Illinois.
Upon his return, he specialised in orthopaedic surgery at Chiang Mai
University in northern Thailand. He served in the university from 1972 to 1975.

Dr Therdchai Jivacate talking with amputees from Malaysia.
Dr Therdchai had probably seen one amputee too many and he could
empathise with them. He wanted to do something to help them.
The good doctor can still remember the smiles of amputees when they
received their artificial legs.
He showed a photo of a girl without a leg; she looked glum. In another
photograph, a big smile lit up her face as she walked confidently on stage.
She had an artificial leg to replace the one she lost.
An inventor of prosthetic limbs, Dr Therdchai is renowned for his humanitarian
work in providing free artificial limbs to poor amputees. His affordable high
quality prosthetic limbs which are made from local materials, have earned him
the nickname, Artificial Legs doctor, in his homeland.

Rows of artificial legs waiting to be given to poor and needy Thai amputees to help them live normal lives.
Some 20 or 30 years ago, it was difficult to get artificial legs in Thailand. They
were expensive.
Amputees thought they had no chance of walking again because they could
not afford the legs, said Dr Therdchai.
But some of the amputees where resourceful, and made an artificial leg for
themselves out of any materials they could get their hands on.
Some of them made artificial legs out of wood and bamboo, said Dr
Therdchai. He was inspired by their determination, and sat down to design
artificial legs.
I used Yakult bottles and dissolved them in thinner and poured the liquid
plastic into stump moulds.
The dried plastic made strong materials for artificial limbs and they are much
cheaper (than imported prosthetic legs), said Dr Therdchai.
His technological breakthrough did not go unnoticed.
When the (Thai) Kings mother knew that I could make artificial legs from
yoghurt bottles which cost 10 times cheaper, she set up the Prostheses
Foundation of HRH The Princess Mother in 1992 and appointed me as the
secretary-general, said Dr Therdchai.
Under the royal sponsorship of the Princess Mother Srinagarindra, the
activities of the foundation later expanded beyond the borders of Thailand to
Malaysia, Laos and Myanmar.
Besides the Thai royal family, the foundation also receives support from
private donors and the Thai National Lottery fund.
To date, the Prostheses Foundation has manufactured and given free artificial
legs to more than 15,000 people.
In 1993, one year after the setting up of the Prostheses Foundation, Dr
Therdchai won the Thararom Quality Award for creative inventions from
discarded materials. He was also voted best rural doctor by the National
Medical Association of Thailand.
Invention
In 1994, the National Research Council of Thailand awarded him the third
prize for the most useful medical invention.
On Aug 31, 2008, he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public
Service by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in recognition of his work in
developing artificial limbs for the poor.
Dr Therdchai shared half of the award money (1.5 million baht) with another
award winner.
I divided the money and gave it to my co-workers (who helped make artificial
limbs), and part of it to the Thai king to support his many projects, he said.
Dr Therdchais work takes him to remote rural areas where amputees are
least likely to obtain prosthetic limbs. He set up field clinics and organised
mobile workshops. Teams of five to eight doctors would go on mobile clinic
trips to help amputees.
Since 1992, Dr Therdchai has organised nearly 100 mobile workshops,
including missions in Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar. Such activities have also
been expanded to Aceh, Indonesia.
As of 2010, the mobile units have provided services to 14,000 patients, made
17,000 prosthetic legs, and repaired 2,000 artificial legs.
The amputees (especially farmers) who are active and want to go back to
work are given two artificial legs for free. One is a cosmetic leg for social
activities while the other is a farmers leg for working outdoors, said Dr
Therdchai.
A farmers leg is for farmers who work in the paddy fields. They can climb
fruit trees or wade in creeks to catch snails, he said, referring to the more
hardy version of an artificial leg.

A second chance: Elephant handlers with Motala (right) and Mosha. The two elephants were fitted with artificial
legs after two separate landmine accidents.
Dr Therdchai has also been involved in research to develop artificial limbs for
animals such as elephants. These days, he has no time to make prosthetic
legs for animals anymore.
There is still more that can be done to help other amputees, he said.
Dr Therdchai is planning to set up workshops in Thailand, Malaysia, Burundi
(Africa), Senegal, Aceh (Indonesia) and Myanmar. These workshops will train
locals to make prosthetic limbs. Some amputees want to give back to the
community by making prosthetic limbs for others.
Dr Therdchai was a film consultant for Beyond Borders, a 2003 romantic
drama which starred Angelina Jolie. The movie was filmed in Chiang Mai.
He reminisced: I was a consultant and gave instructions on how to bandage
amputees and paint red dye to simulate blood in scenes that showed a
hospital with amputees.
Dr Therdchais eyes lit up when asked about his role in Beyond Borders. His
delight in seeing Jolie up close is tangible. And when he reflects on his own
humanitarian work, Dr Therdchai is grateful for his parents influence. He
remembers well their words.
My parents told me, If youre a flier, you just kill others or get killed. And, in a
coup detat, you might end up in jail. But if youre a doctor, you can help more
people.
As Dr Therdchai walked among the amputees, he finds great gratification in
knowing that he has had a direct hand in enhancing their quality of life. His
heart is lifted and his spirit soars. That feeling is better than flying a fighter jet!