New Organization Aids Children In Need Of Prosthetics

Eight-year-old Parker Millhouse hops ahead of his father, Matt, to a pavilion located in a Lancaster park. Without hesitation, he leaps on a picnic table and from there straddles one of the pavilion poles. Using his powerful arms, his full left leg, and his right stump, Parker climbs up the pole. His prosthetic leg lies on the bench of a nearby picnic table. Parker had asked his dad, Matt, to help him remove the device because it was making his stump itch.

Parker's fifth and current prosthesis sports camo on the material that fits around his stump. Matt said Parker enjoys climbing rock walls as well as playing on the neighbor's trampoline. "He uses his arms all the time," said Matt. "He's very muscular."

"I climbed a giant rope," Parker said of a recent activity.

Parker is the poster child for Iron-Leg Corp, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has a goal of helping raise funds to help children obtain needed prosthetics and receive therapy to learn to use them. "We want to get the more advanced prosthetics (for children)," explained Matt, who told the story of a youngster named Shawn, who lives in York and is currently being helped by the organization. Matt learned about Shawn when he read an article about him online and was able to contact Shawn's mother. "(In the) article ... his mom was saying insurance wouldn't cover a better hand," said Matt, who noted that Shawn was using a strap to hold a bow so he could practice playing the violin. "When I called her, she said he got (a moderately more advanced) hand when she raised money through (crowdsourcing)." Matt explained that insurance will generally cover only the most basic prosthetics for children because they grow so fast. He added that limbs can cost as much as $85,000. The mechanical hand that Iron-Leg hopes to purchase for Shawn will have advanced technology, allowing him to control the hand from his stump. Matt said Iron-Leg will need to raise $10,000 to help make that purchase.

To raise those funds, Iron-Leg is planning a benefit golf tournament for Saturday, Sept. 11. Matt acknowledged that the event is being held on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and noted that three of the organizers are veterans. He said that a large flag will be part of the event. The tournament will be held at The Highlands of Donegal, 650 Pinkerton Road, Mount Joy, and will include a silent auction and dinner. Registration will begin at 11:30 a.m., and there will be a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. Organizers have invited Shawn to be present at the tournament. More information about the tournament may be found at http://www.ironleg.org or by emailing info@ironleg.org.

According to Matt, the organization started with a charity boxing match hosted by Bucket List Boxers in September of 2020. After some consideration, organizers decided to donate the funds to Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development. Parker had gone to Schreiber for physical therapy to learn to use his prosthesis. "We were happy to raise money for them," said Matt of the center.

Currently, Iron-Leg has an eight-member board that meets regularly. Matt hopes to see the board expand in the future, and he has learned of an organization that works to recycle prosthetics that Iron-Leg might be able to partner with. "As we grow, we will try to network," he said.