Houston, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2104 / For non-profit organization Houston Amputee Society (H.A.S), rapid growth accompanied their first year of formation. "Always moving forward", quotes Bourns, the H.A.S. is proud to announce they will be reaching out to a larger audience nationally as the American Amputee Society, Inc.
For American Amputee Society (A.A.S) CEO and Founder Jeff Bourns, life as an amputee has come with many challenges that his amputee social network helped. Bourns has been an amputee for over 30 years and took his first steps on a prosthetic leg; Born with Congenital birth defect missing tibia. In earlier years he found it lonely, to navigate through a world of people who did not have the same challenges. He found great support in finding other amputees to associate with. After sharing his community with other Houston amputees for a year, the organization is now beginning transition to sharing their community with the nation.
Many amputees are offered support groups right in the hospital by a peer visitor but often the peer is working for a big-name prosthetic company and eventually the amputee finds him/herself being solicited. “It can be discouraging for amputees to be approached by groups who are out to earn a buck, or who are so tightly affiliated with prosthetics based sponsors that the members don’t feel supported” states Bourns, “As a non-profit group that does not take yearly sponsorship from prosthetics companies or affiliated with organizations that do, we can ensure our members are not getting advice that has an end goal of purchasing something. It’s just other amputees, and their experiences.”
The A.A.S isn’t all about the trials of being an amputee, however, it’s a social group and events are created to encourage amputees to have fun and try new things together. Many times, new amputees feel a lot of frustration when trying to get out into a world that is suddenly different for them. With the A.A.S, they can come out and know they aren’t being judged or watched too closely. For those like Bourns who have been amputees for life, it’s nice to be a part of a social network of people who have gone through similar things and it’s a way of lending support and giving back.
About Houston Amputee Society (H.A.S):
The American Amputee Society is an independent non-profit organization. Our mission at the American Amputee Society is to actively serve the amputee community by getting amputees together building relationships. We achieve this by holding events and adaptive education, one on one consultations, speaking engagements and active life style mentoring.
A.A.S has no boundaries, meaning we are an independent organization representing ALL amputees regardless of prosthetic affiliation. We work with both civilian and military amputees. Our first year during our incubation phase we focused on expanding our reputation and vision; creating a community and putting people first!
For our second year we will focus on expanding the community; letting others know they are not alone and practicing adaptive education principles.
Contact Information
Andy Toppin, Chief Operating Officer, Houston Amputee Society
D.B.A: American Amputee Society,Inc.
WEB: http://www.houstonamputeesociety.org/
EMAIL: [email protected]
PHONE: 832-509-6388