Abstract
It is with great sadness that we record the death of Paul Van Lede who was an innovator in the development of hand orthoses. He brought the making of hand orthoses to a new level, he was always keen to learn, had a wide interest and was fully committed to excellence.
Paul was born in 1944 and graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor in Occupational Therapy. In 1969, Paul became head of the occupational therapy department within the Department of Physical Medicine at the University Hospital of Liège, Belgium. In 1973 he undertook a post-graduate course in orthotics and in 1984 completed a Masters in Hospital Sciences. In 1986 Paul wanted to spread his wings and he started working at Orfit Industries until he retired in 2009.
In 1984 he was a part of the group starting the Belgian Society for Hand Therapy (BHT) and remained a board member until 2002. From 1998 to 2000 he was the president of the BHT. Since 1993 he was also a corresponding editor of the Journal of Hand Therapy.
During his years at Orfit Ind. Paul made history with his way of making hand orthoses, his way of teaching and of making the art of hand and finger orthoses easy and beautiful. He had the capability of going into depth without losing focus and without making things complicated. He developed a lot of different splint designs which are still in use every day. Patterns which are copied all over the world and by such they became a standard. Many will be familiar with his designs, for example the gauntlet thumb post orthosis and the dorsal cock-up orthosis.
From 1986 until 2009 Paul travelled around the globe. He visited all continents and more than 60 countries giving workshops, lectures and participating at congresses. He inspired thousands of hand therapists, OTs and PTs across the globe.
I had the honour of working close with Paul during several years. We challenged each other in the way we analysed the (bio)mechanics behind splinting. This resulted in two books. For Paul those books where the pinnacle on his work. He loved researching and analysing (bio)mechanics and his thoughts never stopped. This made finishing the books a real challenge. He would call me in the middle of the night to discuss a new thought forgetting that he was on the other side of the globe, travelling giving courses. In the midst of a discussion he would suddenly stop talking, grasp a piece of paper and pen to draw a new thought. He kept this drawing several days or weeks at his side working on it until he was satisfied and able to put words on it and discuss it with someone else.
At international congresses people are still asking after Paul and his courses. He became “a concept”. It’s clear to me that he is appreciated by splinting specialists as a colleague with unique teaching capabilities and who impacted on many therapists.
Paul was very sporty but due to all the travelling he wasn’t able to continue his sport activities and he picked up photography instead. He loved taking nice pictures and as soon as digital photography became established he would “play” with his new and old pictures and slides. Paul loved Jazz and he always had music with him on his travels. In the beginning on cassettes and a Walkman but also here he was an early adopter of new technology.
For me it’s a solace knowing that many of his splinting patterns and techniques are still in use every day all over the globe and through this he is still among us.
I will remember Paul as an excellent therapist, a challenging co-author, a master in teaching, a beautiful person and a great colleague and friend. He is now resting peacefully.
IFSHT has added a page to their website for Memorial donations: http://www.ifsht.org/page/memorial-fund. By donating you are supporting therapists from developing countries to attend the next International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy Triennial Meeting. Paul would be proud we honor him by supporting the education of therapists from around the world.
Paul van Lede with Griet van Veldhoven