A Saint John woman is helping to inspire and support child amputees and their families.
Twenty-year-old Emma Coakley was born without a right hand.
She has grown up in the War Amps CHAMP program, and this is her second year mentoring others as a junior counsellor.
“Starting at six months old, I attended my first seminar. And ever since then, I have been going to the seminars every year, except for the little break during COVID. And it has really helped shape who I am and give me the confidence to do all the things that I’m doing today,” Coakley told our newsroom.
Around 100 War Amps CHAMPS and their families from across Atlantic Canada will attend seminars at the Delta Beausejour Hotel in Moncton on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
She explained that her job at the seminars is to be a role model for the younger CHAMPS and to give advice and assistance to those who need it.
“Sometimes during the seminar, some of the junior counsellors go up on stage and talk about their experience with the CHAMP program to give the newer families some hope,” Coakley said.
The War Amps provides counselling services and financial services to its members. Many child amputees require prosthetics, and the War Amps will cover the funding through donations. There is no government assistance for the program.
Coakley offered this advice to parents and child amputees, “I would highly recommend they reach out to the War Amps, and they can provide them with the information on anything they would need. If they want to come to a CHAMP seminar, if they want to get a prosthetic, or if they just have general questions, then the War Amps can help with anything like that. Just don’t give up, because perseverance is what gets you through it. If you need a little help sometimes, that’s okay.”
