PBS NewsHour Producer Helps Haitian Amputee Get New ‘Leg’

It was in July that the PBS NewsHour profiled dancer/choreographer George Exantus. He is one of the thousands of Haitians who lost a limb after being trapped under rubble during January’s earthquake.

At the time, Exantus — who lost his right leg below the knee — hoped for a sophisticated prosthetic, explaining that “to dance, you need an extremely expensive leg, but that’s not available in Haiti. I’ll probably never get that.”

Viewers responded, contacting the NewsHour to offer donations and asking what could be done to help. Merril Schwerin, the producer of the segment, went to work on securing a prosthesis.

Device maker Freedom Innovations agreed to donate the prosthetic limb, with further assistance coming from a nonprofit group, the Hanger Ivan R. Sable Foundation. Exantus now has the new ‘leg’ he needed.

Watch him take a spin on the dance floor, after the jump…

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