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The Lehigh Valley Amputee Support Group is sponsoring and hosting its annual Amputee Awareness Day event April 12, 2025, 9:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest, the Kasych Family Pavilion and the Richard Fleming Educational Conference Center in Education Conference Rooms 6, 7, and 8.
The featured speaker is Robert Rodriguez, an athlete, advocate and father, who was born with fibular hemimelia – a congenital disability that left him with only two toes and no ankle. His mother made the difficult decision to amputate his foot. Rodriguez will share his inspiring story noon-1 p.m.
Growing up, Rodriguez struggled with his condition, but with a lot of support and encouragement he overcame believing his amputation was an obstacle and started to see it as a stepping stone. He joined adaptive sports and found purpose in helping others, going so far as to represent Team USA in amputee soccer.
The event includes vendors and prosthetic companies demonstrating products. A boxed lunch is provided to those in attendance.
According to the Amputee Coalition, approximately 185,000 amputations happen in the U.S. each year. Common reasons for amputations include diseases such as diabetes, trauma and infections.
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