Double amputee wants help to walk again

Having read a news report out of England that a donkey received the gift of a prosthetic limb for Christmas, a double amputee in St Catherine is hoping to be equally lucky to be given the chance to walk again.

Byron Housen, who lost his legs due to complications of diabetes, said that he is unable to reach the $1.3-million price tag to purchase the prosthetic legs.

"Right now, I am suffering in this wheelchair," Housen, a former taxi operator, told THE STAR during a visit to his Brunswick Avenue, Spanish Town, St Catherine, home last week.

"I can be more productive if I can be given a pair of prosthetic legs. I have an open licence to drive trucks and even buses, but a just cannot afford the legs to move around," Housen said.

The father of four said that he lost one of his legs in 2017, and the other a year later. Since then, he has had to give up driving, and now moves around in a wheelchair, which he said can be an arduous task.

"Sometimes mi can hardly manage to push it from the house to the road," Housen lamented.

"The last four years find me selling bag juice and sweets, sometimes even grabba (tobacco) to survive. There is no proper payment like when I drive for a living," he said.

He longs to get back on his feet.

"I can drive but can also do mason work. Believe me, I need the help to help my younger children who live elsewhere with their mother," he said.

The 52-year-old said that his greatest wish for 2022 is to be gifted the prosthetic legs so that he will be able to provide for his family.

Byron Housen may be contacted via telephone at (876) 512-9962.