BERNADETTE B.
DOUROUX:
Thankfully, most
of us will never
know what it’s
like to experience
the loss of a leg, an arm or
some other body part. However,
for those who do, Bernadette B.
Douroux, CPO is in the business
of helping them make a smooth
transition to a replacement for the
missing limb.
Restoring
Patients’
Mobility with
Prosthetic-
Orthotic
Skill and
Compassion
By Dean M. Shapiro
A board-certified prosthetist-orthotist
(CPO) operating out of her office and
laboratory at 448 Terry Parkway Suite
F, in Terrytown, Bernadette brings to
her patients the expertise, know-how
and compassionate attention to detail
of someone who has been fitting people
with artificial limbs and braces for over
35 years. Born into an Algiers family
with a distinguished musical pedigree,
Bernadette could have gone the same
route after showing early skills on piano
and trumpet but she chose a field requiring
a different set of skills that very few
women were venturing into at that time.
For those who are unfamiliar with the
medical terms, “prosthetics” are artificial
limbs and “orthotics” are braces
that help maintain stability. The work
Bernadette does in those highly technical
fields requires precision and painstaking
attention to detail but she loves what she
does. “I love the satisfaction I get when
someone walks comfortably out of my
office on a prosthesis I fitted them with
and it helps them regain their mobility,”
she proudly stated. “I get a lot of thanks
and compliments for what I do and it’s
a nice feeling to be doing that service
for them.”
Bernadette began learning her skills
shortly after graduating high school while
living in Los Angeles and working for her
late, former father-in-law, John Noble
Roberts. He was an amputee himself,
having lost a leg to enemy fire while
aboard a U.S. Coast Guard transport ship
stranded on a sandbar during the World
War II D-Day assault. After the war he set
up shop in L.A. to help other amputees
regain their ability to walk by producing
artificial legs.
PHOTO BY: PEGGIE F. JONES
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