Limb loss awareness event hosted by medical student interest group

	Cameron Clapp, a triple amputee, will speak at UMass Medical School on Oct. 7.

Cameron Clapp, a triple amputee, will be at UMass Medical School on Wednesday, Oct. 7, to deliver a message of inspiration and hope for amputees and the health care providers who support individuals living with limb loss.

Clapp was just 15 when he lost both his legs and his right arm in an accident. Now 29, Clapp will recount in his presentation “Impossible is an opinion, not a fact,” how prosthetics, along with the support of family, friends and a dedicated medical team, have enabled him to live an active, productive life. He now surfs, runs competitively, swims and inspires others through peer-to-peer mentoring and motivational public speaking.

The event is coordinated by second-year School of Medicine students Amanda Winkler and Balaj Rai with support from the New England Amputee Association and the Hanger Clinic.

“Amanda and I are trying to help the student body and faculty become more educated about amputees as a stigmatized population,” said Rai, who with Winkler, has developed an Optional Enrichment Course on limb loss which is launching this semester. “Our efforts are taking on greater relevance with the impending expansion of the Veteran’s Association Worcester. We are working toward preparing our community for its arrival.”

Free and open to the public, Clapp’s presentation will take place in Amphitheater II from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7. For more information and to RSVP, contact Winkler at Amanda.Winkler@umassmed.edu or 978-729-5403, or Raiat Balaj.Rai@umassmed.edu or 917 213-6730. RSVPs are requested by Oct. 4.