A lady who had her right arm amputated over 11 years ago, is seeking help to save her left.

In 1997, Seble Mallory worked at Just Shirts laundry on Par-la-Ville Road, on a machine which processed cloth napkins.

The job required her to make a repetitive up-and-down-movement which eventually took its toll and Mrs. Mallory was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), a chronic pain condition.

"Working on the machines included ironing the napkins in a vertical position, in an up-and-down motion for the entire day," she explained.

"That was my job. I kept feeling pain in my right arm all the time and when I went to get it checked out, I was told I had RSD."

The Devonshire woman said that eventually the nerves in her arm died off. In simple terms, her arm was 'dead' with amputation the only option.

An implantable pulse was generator installed in her abdomen. The devices are able to send electrical currents. In Mrs. Mallory's case the currents were directed to her arm, to relieve pain.

In the ten years that followed, she developed a similar pain in her left arm which also turned out to be RSD.

As a result, the pulse generator was surgically removed in October 2007 and replaced with another, capable of accommodating both arms.

Mrs. Mallory said: "I started to feel the pain again in both arms. The generator is operated by a remote control. When I went to turn it up, the control indicated that the battery inside of me was dead.

"I now have to fly back away to the hospital and have the box removed and a new battery installed – and it has only been one year."

She said that she, her doctor, and her insurance company agree the surgery is necessary.

Support, she said, has come through her membership in the Amputee Association of Bermuda. The organisation was established in 2002 by staff at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, a physiotherapist and a medical social worker.

Members are persons with special needs caused by the amputation of a limb either by accident or illness.

Currently, the organisation is trying to recruit more amputees. Their membership stands at only 100 of the nearly 1000 amputees known to be on the Island.

Association president Marian Askia believes lack of mobility is a huge problem which prevents many amputees from attending meetings.

"We are desperately looking for volunteers and amputees to join our organisation," she said.

"We especially need volunteers to help with transporting the amputees to meetings. A lot of people don't come out because they have no way to get here. They usually can't drive," she said.

Medical social worker Colleen English said: "I see many of the amputees when they come through the hospital. I invite them to the meetings but they don't come.

"It's hard to accept the fact that you don't have an arm or a leg. People have a hard time dealing with that, so that may be a reason they don't come out."

The support group has recently relocated and now meets at Dr. Ronald Lightbourne's office at the Hamilton Seventh Day Adventist Church. Meetings are held once a month and educational/informational sessions are held several times a year.