DIDSBURY - A local youth attended the recent War Amps 2017 Western Child Amputee (CHAMP) Seminar in Calgary, which brought together young amputees from across the western provinces.
The theme of the seminar was It's what's left that counts! The motto was adopted by the war amputee veterans who founded the association in 1918 and is still reflected in the spirit of the CHAMP program today.
Eight-year-old Dominic Weiss, a right arm amputee, who attended with his father Heath Weiss, enjoyed the seminars and the opportunity to meet other CHAMP participants.
"I enjoyed it," said Dominic. "It's a lot of fun to see all my friends there."
"This was the fourth one for Dominic," said Heath. "It went well. Generally speaking, they have various seminars set up with usually arm and then leg amputees.
"They have various seminars set up for all kinds of topics such as getting along with other kids and dealing with bullying. There can be issues on how to accomplish things with one hand whether it be doing up a zipper or using a can opener."
Heath said there were around 50 kids at the event with each one bringing a parent.
"(It's a good opportunity) to get together and discuss issues that come up when you're an amputee," he said.
The seminar also featured demonstrations on various tools to help amputees with day-to-day tasks.
"There are a lot of older people there," said Heath. "Practically all the people that run it are amputees. There are also teenagers up to 20 - they have a lot of experience and can help discuss things with younger kids."
Heath said Dominic always enjoys the seminars.
"At Dominic's age, I'm not sure how much they get out of it," said Heath. "Generally speaking, I don't go to the seminars he goes to very often because they often split up the parents and the kids because parents have different issues (such as) insurance, government, raising kids. Kids go off to their own seminars. I'm not too sure what goes on but they have fun. They have friends that they meet year after year. Many of these kids, particularly in small places like Didsbury, don't get to see other people with limb deficiencies so it's a good chance for them to get together."
Martine Lepine, War Amps manager of communications, said the Weiss family is eligible for financial assistance for artificial limbs and recreational devices, as well as regional CHAMP seminars. The program is funded through public support of War Amps Key Tag and Address Label Service. For more information, call 1-800-250-3030 or visit waramps.ca.
Heath said they are very grateful to CHAMP for giving them the chance to attend the seminars.
"CHAMP is a very good organization," he said. "They're a non-profit organization. They spend most of their money helping kids. They do quite a bit for the kids including the seminars. One of the big money makers is the key tag program. That's been around for a while."
"It's a lot of fun to see all my friends there."Dominic Weiss
