Haiton Tembo
This 83 year old gentleman is a farmer by profession and a village headman. He was assessed and invited to 500 miles during the first of our programme of outreach screenings in the north of Mzimba. When he was around 4 years old Mr Tembo’s right leg became weak and deformed, most likely from Polio. He has never had any treatment or assistance and had long since given up hope that things would ever change and just struggled on. In the first video below you can see that his right knee comes right across his body when he puts weight on it. This causes pain and instability. When he came to 500 miles he was fitted with a knee/ankle/foot orthosis (KAFO) with a knee joint with a compensation, as his leg was also found to be shortened. In the second video below you can see that, with the KAFO, his gait is much improved. His right leg is held much straighter, making it easier for him to mobilise.
Mr Tembo said he is very happy with his orthosis and that he was going to tell all the people with mobility difficulties in his village to come to 500 miles to be assessed – and that’s what we want!