clout

[george boyer]

How can amputees move to a position where their voice is heard DIRECTLY,
not through an intermediary.  The ACA is a fine organization but it
doesn't wear the prostheses, use the devices which are made for us with
VARYING degrees of expertise.  Sure, many people directly involved with
the ACA are amputees but that does not change the fact that as a voice,
as representation for us, the ACA is collegial, not adversarial.  This
is clearly to our disadvantage.  Look at the gains made by organized
labor.....not by collegiality were advances made.  Advances in
prosthetic technology are splendid, and these are partially a result of
collegial encouragement.  BUT, we could stop RIGHT NOW advancing toward
newness with innovation, and, with concentration on mastery of the
skills of fitting and alignment be totally supremely content,
comfortable beyond comlplaint....and this with the technology which
exists RIGHT NOW (or even with the technology of thirty years ago if our
main focus were on everyday comfort and function).

What does 'collegiality' mean?  It means that a relationship exists
where the ACA is a colleague, a friend, of the medical establishment, of
the prosthetics manufacturers, of the physical therapy people, the
insurance groups and, of course, of the prosthetists.  The main
difficulty with this is that in this very friendly (collegial)
atmosphere spades are not called as such.  Unpleasant facts such as
widespread failures of prosthetic fitting are considered to be merely
minor details (after all, most of the time the insurance pays anyway).
Trial and error in fitting at the expense of the amputee's time and
money and discomfort (pain).....I suppose the thinking goes that not
everybody can get optimal treatment (this isn't a perfect world after
all!).

The ACA is a fine and necessary and helpful organization.  I would like
to see them evidencing more interest in the MOST important thing in an
amputee's life (after optimal medical intervention for him) which is
guaranteeing superlative fit and alignment of his prosthesis.  Not just
part of the time...ALL of the time.  An aggressive program to assure
this should be the first priority of an ACA.  This would still leave an
ample and logical place for a hard-nosed union, adversarial from its
foundation, and this is of course the AUA, Amputee Union of America.

Think about it.  George B.