I HAVE been an amputee for ten years and can sympathise with Jade and her mother Jenny Cumberland in their quest for 'comfy' legs.

I too had problems getting used to my false right leg, but it required great determination, perseverance and repeated visits to the limb centre to get the leg right. It won't come overnight, they take a lot of getting used to, they nip, pinch, get sore and feel like wellingtons full of water!

Privately-run limb centres are not the answer. We have to nag our fitters at Chapel Allerton to get what we want despite all we pay in to the NHS.

Jade will need new legs every year while she is still growing and the cost would be astronomical.

It's a pity she didn't have her amputations in York District Hospital, where we have a wonderful aftercare system. Sue Walton, the senior physio in charge, would have sorted it out for her.

Judith Dawson

Butcher Terrace, York.

Updated: 10:23 Wednesday, February 07, 2001