PIPO Missions: Limbs and Braces to Mexico

PIPO Missions: Limbs and Braces to Mexico

'How do I say no' to the limbless?
Story Highlights
David Puckett's nonprofit provides free artificial limbs, braces and care

Since November 2000 the organization has helped hundreds in southeastern Mexico

Puckett's organization crafts the braces and artificial limbs from recycled ones



Motozintla, MEXICO (CNN) -- "My life was sad before because I had to crawl on the ground," recalls Caesar Morales, a 24-year-old father in Mexico who, until recently, had only one limb and couldn't walk.

But today, thanks to David Puckett and his U.S.-based nonprofit, Morales has new prosthetic legs. Now, he's not only able to walk, but his newfound independence has made it possible for him to move to another town where he could find work.

"He lifted me up to where I am today," Morales says.

Morales isn't the only person in southeastern Mexico who credits Puckett with changing his life. Since November 2000, the certified, licensed prosthetist/orthotist from Savannah, Georgia, has been providing artificial limbs, orthopedic braces and ongoing care to hundreds in need in the communities of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas -- free of charge.

"When someone loses a limb they immediately know what they've lost," says Puckett, 34. "The goal is to restore the healthy self image again so that that person can see themselves whole."

Puckett first connected with the Yucatan people while volunteering on a mission there as a teenager. Struck by the overwhelming poverty and the physical challenges he saw people facing in the rural communities, Puckett vowed to return and make a difference there.
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/08/22/heroes.puckett/index.html