For family and friends
You do not need to understand prosthetics to be someone to lean on
You are a partner, parent, child or friend of a person after amputation. We have gathered in one place what family members need most: what to expect, where to handle the paperwork and how to help without taking away independence.
Where to start
Three places on the portal that family members reach for most often.
Paperwork step by step
The medical device prescription, NFZ reimbursement, PFRON and PCPR funding, the disability certificate. Paperwork often falls to family members, so it helps to know the order of things.
Open the navigatorLife after amputation
Rehabilitation, first steps with a prosthesis, returning to work and to activity. Written from the perspective of someone who has been through it, not from textbook distance.
Go to the sectionGlossary
Socket, liner, microprocessor knee, level of amputation. Talking to a prosthetist gets much easier once the words are clear.
Open the glossaryHow to support without taking over
The first instinct is to do things for someone. Hand it over, carry it, sort it out. In the first weeks after surgery that is usually needed. Later it works the other way round, because every task done independently is part of getting back into shape.
Asking is simpler than guessing. Not in the form of „can you manage", but „what can I help with". The first one questions, the second leaves the decision with the person it concerns.
It is also worth remembering that the prosthesis does not have to be the subject of every conversation. Work, plans, jokes and ordinary daily matters are proof that life goes on, not avoidance of the topic.
Look after yourself too
Amputation changes daily life for the whole family, not just one person. Tiredness, worry and the feeling that you have to be strong all the time make sense in this situation. Support for yourself is not taking it away from someone else.
Two organisations in Poland running real programmes for people after amputation and their families:
Znowu w Biegu Rehabilitation Centre Foundation
Krakow. Rehabilitation and support for people after amputation, organiser of the Amputation Forum.
znowuwbiegu.plPoland Business Run Foundation
Rehabilitation and prosthetic support funded by money raised during the corporate run.
polandbusinessrun.plEducational content: This page does not replace consultation with a doctor, physiotherapist or psychologist. On questions about health and the course of rehabilitation, the treating team decides.