Prosthetics — a True Story

On the Fourth of July, before the fireworks, before the bans cheered loudly, my friend (let’s call him Gregory) was unloading his car from a marathon course he had set up for the morning festivities. The event went smoothly, and every one came off the course glad they made it out alive.

After every event, Gregory comes home and unloads his car. But today was no meant to be a typical day.

At 5:30 pm, a severely impaired driver hit the car parked behind Gregory’s. Gregory was not in his driveway. He was not on his sidewalk. He was exactly where he shouldn’t be. Gregory was still unloading his car. The driver did not stop. He did not attempt to slow the inertia in any way. His speed and momentum propelled the cars straight into Gregory. In 2.5 seconds, Gregory lost his legs.

To say the next few months were immensely painful would be an understatement. Gregory’s life had changed in a way that primarily only amputees from a war can understand. Amidst the pain and chaos, Gregory found a way to smile. He found something to be grateful for: Life.

Four months after his surgery, Gregory is finally able to stand. And when I say stand, think up then down. He needs a lot of support, but standing isn’t the main issue. Today, it is getting his prosthetics to not irritate his skin.

He had one amputation above the knee and one below. The one below his knee is causing the main issues due to his skin grafts. When you have your legs amputated, the doctors and their team have to take skin grafts to regrow your skin. That skin is then used to form a mold around (in his case) the femur bone and what remains of the tibia and fibula.

Skin grafts hurt. Gregory said they hurt worse than losing his legs. “It feels like a burn.” So you’re lying there in a hospital bed coping with losing your legs while your skin is on fire.

Due to these grafts, his skin is extremely sensitive. Furthermore, his body has to learn to accept weight in areas it had not previously. Again, think of the metaphor of the child learning to walk. First, he holds his mom’s hands as he slowly acclimates his ankles, hips, and knees to bear his body weight. Then after 6–9 months of practice, the baby learns how to walk.

Gregory went in for his first round of prosthetics wanting to learn quickly. He did 5 hours of learning to use the prosthetics with the physical therapists. Soon, his body needed a break. His skin became swollen and agitated. His nurses advised him to take three days off.

Then, he told me and showed me his prosthetics with glee. They are military grade and only recently came on the market. They were too expensive before they were available to the public. In fact, the top prosthetics are too expensive for the average joe. Prosthetics cost between 5,000–50,000 and need to be replaced roughly every 5 years, so on the high end $50,000 is a lot.

Additionally, they are water resistant but they aren’t water-proof. In fact, Gregory informed me, the socket needs to be sealed tightly. Any water in the socket, threatens the seal and is not recommended. He cannot swim in his prosthetics or shower.

Gregory also informed me that his prosthetic would have different settings. This is incredible helpful because Gregory loves the gym. He loves to deadlift so a prosthetic that locks out his bionic knee joint will allow his deadlifting form to be impeccable. In addition, it will make it easier for him to hike and function normally in tasks throughout the day.

At this point, the technology still has a ways to go in terms of water-proof, affordability, and a little closer to human anatomy, but they are far superior to what was around 10 years ago. I am hopeful that the future of prosthetics continues to mimic and even surpass human development for those like Gregory who need a little extra help in life.