In the United States, there are approximately 1.7 million people living with limb loss.

Limb loss affects a variety of people in the United States and around the world and include people of every race, ethnicity, and background without regard to geographic location, occupation, or economic level.

Limbs Across America is a nationwide nonprofit organization founded in Nashville, TN, that will assist amputees nationwide with their prosthetic devices and care when they cannot afford it themselves. The most important thing for any new amputee to focus on is the healing process. Through the generous giving of Limbs Across America donors, upcoming fundraising events, and our network of volunteer doctors and prosthetists, we help make that possible. Now our patients do not have to worry about the financial obligations that would normally accompany an amputation and the prosthetic care that follows.

The vast majority of the uninsured are in working families. Of the estimated 48 million working-age Americans uninsured during the year, 67 percent were in families where at least one person was working full-time. Other key survey findings include:

• More than 82 percent of uninsured adults had been uninsured for one year or more.

• About 51 percent of uninsured adults reported medical debt or bill problems. Of those, about 49 percent used up all of their savings to pay their bills, and two out of five were unable to pay for basic necessities such as food, heat or rent because of medical bills.

• About 37 percent of all working-age adults reported cost-related problems or delays in getting medical care. The uninsured are particularly vulnerable, with 60 percent reporting problems or delays in getting medical care.

These figures are staggering when you consider some of the following statistics about the causes and victims of limb loss.

Each year, the majority of new amputations occur due to complications of the vascular system (of or pertaining to the blood vessels), especially from diabetes. Amputations due to vascular disease - problems associated with the blood vessels - accounted for the majority (82 percent) of limb loss discharges and increased from 38.30 per 100,000 people in 1988 to 46.19 per 100,000 people in 1996. In all age groups, the risk of dysvascular amputation was highest among males and individuals who are African American. Males were at a significantly higher risk for trauma-related amputations than females. For both males and females, risk of traumatic amputations increased steadily with age, reaching its highest level among people age 85 or older.