GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Giving the gift of mobility — A group from Mary Free Bed will be traveling to Guatemala Friday to do just that.
Daniel Malach has been building prosthetics since the age of ten. He’s originally from Israel and his dad owns a prosthetic shop there.
“I love changing people's life…it's always a pleasure to give the gift of mobility,” said Malach.
He’s now a Certified Prosthetist at Mary Free Bed using his skills to change people’s lives, helping them move limbs they once couldn’t.
“It's just amazing to see how they just wheel or crutch in, and they literally walk out,” said Malach.
Friday, he’ll be taking his skills to Guatemala, along with nine other clinicians from Mary Free Bed, to help build prosthetic legs and arms for people there. The trip is part of the Range of Motion Project, a nonprofit providing refurbished prosthetic limbs to people around the world without access. Malach says they go through amputation there much easier and quicker, but they don’t have the other end of the prosthetic solution because it’s not as available.
Which is why their time and donations are so important. The team will be volunteering in Guatemala City for over a week to help people maximize their mobility.
“We come in quick, evaluate them, cast them really quick, pull sockets from plastic and align them and toss them right back into therapy,” explained Malach.
Here in the U.S. the process of getting a prosthetic can take two to four weeks. But they’ll be doing it in four to five days. Last year, they built 40 prosthetics in five days, this year they’ll have 25 to get to.
It’s the success stories and miracles he’s witnessed up close that keeps him coming back.
“They're full with so much joy and determination to just get up and start walking, and it's just amazing to see,” said Malach.
This will be the largest group from Mary Free Bed making the trip, and includes six prosthetists, two therapists and Mary Free Bed’s Chief Medical Officer. For more information about Mary Free Bed click here.
