A local War Amps CHAMP met with MP Chris Warkentin on Wednesday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the War Amps program.
Martha Diemand says she received a call from War Amps asking if her 4-year-old son Abel would like to present the MP with a commemorative envelope created by Canada Post.
“Of course we said yes because we are honoured to be able to help represent the War Amps in any way just to give back for all the ways they’ve helped us.”
Abel was born missing his left hand and part of his left arm below the elbow. At the hospital, his parents were told about War Amps and their CHAMP program for children with amputations. Diemand says the program has provided them with many resources over the years.
“War Amps has not just helped Abel, they’ve helped our whole family. When he was a baby they gave us a lot of resources and reading materials. As his parents, we weren’t sure what to expect. We didn’t know anyone that had been born with an amputation so we had no idea how to raise a child with an amputation.”
The program gives families the resources and information they need to take care of a child with an amputation and also provides them with the support of other families in the same situation. Diemand says that without the program there would be no place for families to turn.
“Without the war Amps, there would be a huge lack of resources for amputee families and a huge gap in not just financial support but also emotional support. It would be difficult to find information on how to take care of an amputee child emotionally as well as physically.”
The CHAMP program was added to the War Amps organization in 1975 to specifically focus on child amputees.