The [...]]]> At Westminster Bridge, on Easter Sunday (April 7th 2012), Jon White and Lee Waters crossed the finish line of one of the toughest canoe races in the world, 28 hours and 9 minutes after they started in Devizes, Somerset.

The Devizes to Westminster (DW) is a non-stop canoe race that covers 125 miles of the Kennet and Avon Canal and the River Thames, including 77 portages (where the canoe is carried around locks or very low bridges). Jon, who is a triple amputee and Lee, who suffered multiple gun shot wounds, competed amoung able bodied canoeists, one third of whom retired from this challenging race. It is to their credit that Jon and Lee had trained hard and were well prepared for this race. Even in the unfavourable conditions for fast times, they managed to finish the race in under their target time.

Jon and Lee who were both injured while serving in Afghanistan, competed in the race to raise money for The Royal Marines Association and SSAFA Forces Help. Donations to these great causes have been flooding in (follow the links to the just-giving pages if you would like to make a contribution).

The aim of the seminar, which was accredited by APIL with 6 hours CPD, was to give some practical [...]]]> Patients and technical experts gave hands on practical demonstrations at ProActive Prosthetics seminar, entitled Prosthetics the Future, at their Surrey based clinic on Friday 25^th November 2011.

The aim of the seminar, which was accredited by APIL with 6 hours CPD, was to give some practical insight into the rehabilitation of amputees and the role of professionals involved, with a focus on the new technology and techniques now available to patients.

The seminar included a look at new generation prosthetics by Blatchford with demonstrations from Ossur Power Knee and Otto Bock Genium. British 2012 gold medal Paralympic hopeful Stefanie Reid talked about her journey to becoming a professional athlete, clinical specialist John Sullivan gave an update on Osseo-integration and orthopaedic surgeon Mr John Angel imparted his many years of experience and expertise in amputation surgery.

The day also included physiotherapy demonstrations with patients, artist and silicone expert Sophie de Oliveira Barata on state of the art silicone covers before concluding with a discussion on the future of medico-legal claims for amputees by William Latimer-Sayer, Cloisters.

One delegate commented “All the patients were truly inspirational and it was an amazing opportunity to speak to them and learn about their real life experiences and how they overcome their difficulties.” Another added “The concluding talk on medico-legal claims was one of the most interesting, relevant to my role and pitched at a good level with clear concise information.”

Paralympic athlete Stefanie Reid said, “It’s not often you get the opportunity to talk to the legal teams who are instrumental in ensuring the level of care you receive in such an open forum. Clinics like ProActive Prosthetics work with the latest technologies and engineering available, allowing people like me to pick up my life and get on with it.”

Richard Nieveen, Director of ProActive Prosthetics, comments: “We were delighted to attract so many leading law firms to the seminar and encouraged by the level of engagement from participants and delegates during the day. We had excellent feedback and plan to hold similar seminars in the future.”

A mechanical engineer by trade, [...]]]> ProActive Prosthetics are pleased to announce the appointment of a new technician, Matthew Pizzey, to the team. Matthew joins the clinic, which includes three prosthetists, a physiotherapist and operations director, to assist in the making of sockets, thermal plastics and laminating.

A mechanical engineer by trade, Matthew’s previous role included designing and drawing under floor heating systems. Matthew first became interested in the field of prosthetics through his father who works for leading manufacturer of prosthetics, Otto Bock.

Richard Nieveen, Director of ProActive Prosthetics comments: “We are very pleased to welcome Matthew to the team and are looking forward to working with him to develop his engineering skills into the field of prosthetics. ProActive Prosthetics is one of the most experienced rehabilitation clinics in the UK and as our reputation continues to grow and our referrals increase, we have expanded both our clinic space and the team to ensure our level of care and reputation remains first class.”

Matthew Pizzey commented: “I’m delighted to join ProActive Prosthetics which is already proving to be an incredibly rewarding place to work. It’s a little different to my last job and I’m thoroughly enjoying being part of a team that not only works with amazing patients, but their commitment to patient care means we are constantly pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in prosthetics.”

The latest appointment comes as ProActive Prosthetics celebrates its 10th anniversary and expanded facilities at Tanshire Park which now include consulting rooms, a casting area, a large well equipped clinical fitting room and prosthetic manufacturing workshop, which allows limb provision from initial consultation to post fitting physiotherapy support.

The emphasis of Mr Nieveen’s presentation was to reinforce the importance [...]]]> Richard Nieveen was invited to an international meeting in Marseille France last week, to present a prosthetic paper.  The session titled “Projet de Vie” was a two hour session with speakers from many other countries.

The emphasis of Mr Nieveen’s presentation was to reinforce the importance of the patient/prosthetist relationship and that fundamental to any prosthesis is socket comfort.

An independent body HAS is evaluating prosthetic and orthotic devices that are provided on schedule by the social security reimbursement scheme in France.  The concern in many prosthetic clinics in France is that the purchasers of services understand prosthetic rehabilitation,  that prosthetic hardware is not the most important aspect in prosthetic rehabilitation, but it is the prosthetist’s contribution that is crucial.

The photographs above show Mr Nieveen with Marcel Berthet, Secretary of ISPO France and Mr Jean Pierre Lissac, President ISPO France.

Over 60 special guests and staff came to celebrate ProActive Prothetics 10th anniversary on Friday 23rd September2011. The open day which included tours of our facilities, guest speakers, extreme croquet and afternoon tea was in celebration of 10 years since the foundation of [...]]]>

Over 60 special guests and staff came to celebrate ProActive Prothetics 10^th anniversary on Friday 23^rd September2011. The open day which included tours of our facilities, guest speakers, extreme croquet and afternoon tea was in celebration of 10 years since the foundation of ProActive Prosthetics, the first independant multi-disciplinary prosthetic rehabilitation clinic.

The open day was an opportunity for patients and families to meet each other as they enjoyed behind the scenes tours, learnt about the prosthetic process and enjoyed talks from special guests, including former paratrooper and novelist Paul Burns, ex-marine Jim Bonney from ADVENTURE REHAB, artist and silicone expert Sophie de Oliveira Barata and bronze medal Paralympian Stefanie Reid – all patients at the clinic.

Stefanie’s presentation was a lesson in never giving up. The 26-year-old sprint and high jump athlete lost her right foot in a boating accident at 16 years of age. She is now hoping to compete for Great Britain at the 2012 Paralympics. Stefanie comments, “Clinics like ProActive Prosthetics allow you to pick up your life and get on with it. Richard and his team are an opportunity to grab hold of and with their support and the technology now available your dreams can come true. They may end up a little different but you can do it and I don’t let anyone tell me any different.”

Richard Nieveen, Director of ProActive Prosthetics, prosthetist, with more than 25 years experience in the profession, comments: “The open day was an opportunity for us to celebrate all that we’ve achieved and thank our patients for their support, many of whom we are now privileged enough to call friends. Our success is based on the team’s total commitment to pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in prosthetics and working closely with all of our patients in understanding their individual needs, balancing technology with lifestyle and managing the prosthetics process from start to finish. Families play a crucial role in this and the open day was also a chance to show them what we do and what they can achieve at ProActive Prosthetics.”

Stefanie grew up [...]]]> ProActive Prosthetics are delighted to announce their support of Paralympian Stefanie Reid. Over the run-up to 2012 Richard Nieveen, Prosthetist will work with Stefanie to develop the best prosthetic sports limb to support Stefanie’s bid for a medal in the 2012 Paralympic games.

Stefanie grew up as an active, sporty teenager. She was passionate about rugby and planned to join the national team. But at 16, her life changed forever when she lost part of her leg in a boating accident.

Four years later, while watching the elite athletes training at Queen’s University in Toronto, she knew she wanted to try running again. Adjusting to her new running prosthesis and increasing her training times paid off when she won a place in the university’s varsity team.

In 2006, after representing Canada at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, UK and the IPC World Athletics Championships in the Netherlands, Stefanie made the decision to begin training full-time and devote everything to her sport.

Stefanie says her experience at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games taught her a lot about competing in front of huge crowds. She finished a disappointing fifth in the long jump, but made a great come back and won bronze in the 200m sprint final.

Her favourite quote from the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, is etched onto her running prosthetic: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Follow Stefanie’s progress on our website and on her website www.paralympians.com.