CARACAS, Venezuela. — For survivors who lost limbs in the disaster, the rescue was only the beginning.

Ricardo Contreras lost a leg and injured both hands while trying to dig his way out of the rubble. Karina Bechara spent 23 hours with her legs crushed beneath household furniture.

Now, both are beginning a recovery process that could take up to a year, while holding on to the hope that they will walk again.

“It was hard, very hard. It was a shocking blow,” Contreras said in Spanish.

Bechara said a piece of furniture weighing about 200 kilograms, or 440 pounds, fell on her feet.

At Ortoprotécnica, an orthopedic clinic and workshop, the demand for prosthetics has surged. Bianca Dámaso, an orthopedic specialist there, estimates as many as 200 people lost limbs in the disaster.

“They lost their house, they lost their jobs in many cases, they lost their family, and also part of their body,” Dámaso said.

For many patients, getting a prosthetic is just the start. The process can take up to a year, and some are not expected to begin trying on their new limbs until the coming weeks.

Knowing they will eventually have prosthetics is already giving some patients hope, Dámaso said.

“It’s something that gives them a peace in the mind,” she said.

Contreras says he is determined to keep moving forward.

“Every day, I tell myself, I can do this. I’m going to keep working. I’m going to keep studying,” he said in Spanish.

Dámaso is also trying to focus on what comes next.

“If crying could give me my legs back, I would cry 24 hours a day,” she said.

“Life gives us opportunities, and this is a new opportunity for me,” she said.

Contreras faces another loss. He also lost both of his parents, who were in the same apartment with him.

For survivors like him, another hurdle is the cost of prosthetic limbs. Several charities and foundations have come together to help cover those expenses.

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