When the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team needed help with their annual Kids’ Camp, they turned to Methodist Orthotics & Prosthetics.
“They needed prosthetists on site in case anything happened with either the kids’ or team’s devices,” said Methodist O&P prosthetist Jennifer Long. “They asked us, and we said, ‘Well, yeah! Absolutely.’”
Long has made it her mission to encourage Methodist patients to participate in sports, so she was excited to get to work with the country’s most well-known team of athletes with amputations.
The Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team Kids’ Camp is a week-long clinic that pairs 20 children with amputations with members of the team that serve as their mentors and coaches.
“We knew we wanted to have one if not two prosthetists available there at the kids’ camp while our clinic and games were going on,” said Susan Rodio, the founder and director of the camp. “They volunteered, and we were happy to have them.”
Ossür, a prosthesis manufacturer Methodist O&P works closely with, had recommended Long and her fellow prosthetist Taylor Hankins for their expertise as well as their dedication to athletics.
Cooper Blair, one of the athletes Methodist O&P sponsors, had already been selected as one of the 20 kids participating in this year’s camp, so it was a perfect fit.
For the past four years, Long has taken a group of aspiring athletes to the Endeavor Games, an annual event in Oklahoma City for athletes with physical disabilities. Hankins has been with her along the way assisting with handling the prosthetic needs of Methodist O&P athletes.
Both continue to encourage all who come through Methodist’s doors, regardless of whether or not they have a background in athletics, to consider pursuing sports as a way to stay active and boost confidence post-injury.
And while both Long and Hankins had a lot of experience working with athletes with amputations, the experience at the Kids’ Camp was unique.
“When someone comes to us here at Methodist, we’re usually building them a prosthesis from scratch,” Hankins said. “But at the camp, we were like the pit crew—when something broke, we fixed it.”
And both prosthetists were blown away by the Wounded Warriors’ dedication to mentoring the kids and letting them know they weren’t the only ones who struggled to overcome setbacks.
“Every kid like Cooper was matched up with one of the Wounded Warriors, and whatever the kids were doing they did too,” Hankins said. “They even came along for all the other activities like going to the museum and water park. They were there to just hang out with the kids.”
“They were amazing,” Long said. “They were just phenomenal to watch.”
The Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team is comprised of veteran and active duty servicemen who have lost limbs serving their country post-9/11. The team is also a charitable organization with a mission to raise awareness and inspire by demonstrating the wounded warriors’ resiliency and strength on and off the field. And what better way to inspire and give back to the community than by showing children with amputations they too can overcome adversity?
“I had seen the way our players interacted with children with amputations, and I came up with the concept of the camp to put children with amputations together with our players,” said Rodio, who founded the camp in 2012 as a volunteer. “We plan to make it an annual event. Our players love it. Some have said it’s the highlight of their year.”
And if Blair is any indication, the kids love it, too.
“I enjoyed the camp because it taught me that there really isn’t a sport that I can’t play,” he said. “I know to never give up. I know there is always a way for me to play whatever sport I want.”
For more information about Methodist Orthotics & Prosthetics, call 601-936-8899.