National Amputee Awareness Week, which runs from 4 – 11 October 2020, is a chance to ‘Shine a Light’ on the number of people in Australia with limb loss and remind amputees and children with limb differences that they are not alone. This is a week dedicated to celebrating Australians living with limb loss, raising awareness of this lifelong disability, reducing the stigma that amputees can face, and sharing limb loss prevention information.
There is over one amputation performed every hour in Australia, which equates to 28 per day and almost 9,000 amputations ever year. People undergo amputation for a variety of reasons: traumatic accidents; cancer; diabetes; vascular disease; and, infections (e.g. meningococcal disease, sepsis). It’s a growing community made up of people of all ages, from all cultures and backgrounds, and living in every part of Australia.
National Amputee Awareness Week builds community knowledge of limb loss, works to break down misconceptions about amputees, supports good quality of life outcomes, and educates the wider community of the prevalence of amputation in the hope they better manage their healthcare.
