MANY of Ballarat's public and civic sites will turn a shade of green next week in honour of National Amputee Week.
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Australia sees more than 8000 amputees every year caused mostly by accident, but also medical conditions including diabetes.
For many of Ballarat's amputees, it's the work of the Queen Elizabeth Centre they want to highlight as part of the national week.
Tony Gallagher had his left leg amputated after an accident saw gangrene set in on his foot.
"I injured my foot and it went bad on me so they had to take it off about five years ago," he said.
"I've been a member of BAG (Ballarat Amputee Group) for the last couple of years.
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"I am a regular visitor to the Queen Elizabeth centre. The work they do is worth a documentary. They've kept me on my feet more or less."
Alan Buchanan lost his leg in an accident aged 22.
"The wake up though was really later in life," Mr Buchanan said.
"Back in the day people wouldn't understand you were an amputee, they'd look at you as if to say 'get away from me'.
"I remember dancing with women, when I had the prosthetic leg, but then when they find our you're an amputee, they walk away.
"Let's be honest here, I'm not dead. We are still useful to society, we still work, we still pay our taxes, but we wish the government would look after us a bit better.
"What we want is for more funding to be directed to the people who are looking after us.
"Those who work in rehab, they are not funded enough. The people are marvellous and they do wonderful things with what they've got, but they need more support."
Throughout the week, public spaces like the Ballarat Town Hall and the fountain at Lake Wendouree will be lit up green.
President of BAG Bill Stephens, said it was important to always remember, amputation could happen to anyone at anytime.
"It's not just older people, it's children as well," he said.
"So it's important to make the public aware, and the politicians aware of just how many amputations there are in Australia.
"There are over 8000 people every year who are having something amputated, it's a massive amount of people.
"You hear about cancer and other diseases, but amputees don't get the same publicity.
"It's life changing, not just for the amputee, but for the whole family.
"A lot of people still have a stigma, I've known people who have lost a finger and they carry on, imagine what it's like to lose a leg?"
To learn more or to join the #GetYourRibbonOn and #ShineALight campaign, visit limbs4life.org.au
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