REAL STORIES
Aileen Cudworth
Edward Garrity
Jessica Long
Mike Roberts
Alisa Webb
Russ Wedge |
My name is Mike Roberts. I lost both of my legs about 5 inches above each knee when I was struck by a car while changing a flat tire on I-495 in Maryland back in September of 1983. As much as the story lends itself to the drunk driver scenario, it just did not happen that way. A Baptist minister collided with me, not a drunk driver. It was just something that was not meant to happen. Truly a tragic thing for him as much as me. Sometimes I think I had it easier than he did! Can you imagine that? Being 21 years old at the time, words cannot begin to describe the magnitude of the impact it had on my life!
Being young, athletic and very able bodied before, I was very much at a loss both physically and emotionally on how to do even the most basic things (like the answer to nature calls at 3am!). It seemed that everything I attempted to do in those first months post accident, required assistance. I don't know how many of you have ever been in that position, but I can tell you that for a 21 year old that was finally just getting started in his life, this was incredibly frustrating for everyone including my family. Unfortunately for them, they were targets for my outbursts made in fits of frustration. The old saying goes that time has a way of healing all things. I learned that saying is just not an old cliche. I like to add the words beliefs and faith to that saying. As I look back, I did not have the immediate answers to my many questions as they came up. I did however, have the belief and the faith that the answers would some how, in some way present themselves as I needed them. And they did!
As time SLOWLY healed my body and mind, I became more and more involved in wheelchair athletics. This was very instrumental in my recovery. For different people it takes different things, but for me, this taught me that what you can do is million times more important than what you can't. I started out first playing wheelchair basketball. I drifted into snow skiing once again. Finally becoming very active playing wheelchair racquetball. Growing up near the Chesapeake Bay, I could not resist buying a boat! Spent the later 1980's and most of the 1990's terrorizing the Bay! They remain some of my fondest experiences in my life!
When it came right down to it, most would rather use a wheelchair than use prosthetics. I knew early on that I would have to be comfortable with my own body image. I knew that a key would be for me to pass the "old mirror test". |
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You know where you look in the mirror and like what is looking back at you? Two years or so after my accident, I could pass this test. I adapted to not having both my legs from above each knee down and had grown quite comfortable. I had however, worked myself to a place where I thought that I owed it to myself to look into prosthetics. I went to a clinic and went through the fitting process and sure enough, it just was not worth it. It was what every other bi-lateral amputee told me it was. It was clumsy, very unnatural, and very energy consuming. Bottom line, I was MUCH more comfortable in the chair. Those prosthetics spend the rest of their natural life in my closet!! Around 1989, there was a clinic in Oklahoma City that was getting a lot of publicity. This clinic has been featured on just about every morning program you could name. In their sound bites and news clips, they featured a bi-lateral amputee that appeared to be the same level of amputation as I was. The film clips featured this guy, walking (sometimes with the assistance of a straight cane) and the highlight of the clip was him running step over step!! At the time, watching this guy do this defied conventional physics! I began to think to myself, if this guy can run, I should be able to at least walk. At the time, I was in the best shape of my life and I had real high hopes of walking independently. The only problem was geography! They was about 1,600 miles of real estate that separated me from the clinic. I was so into this at this point, I ended up going to Oklahoma City for about a month and a half to go through another fitting process. To the best of everyone's knowledge, I was the second bi-lateral above knee amputee to run step over step (thanks to my friends Kevin Carroll and Roger Charter).
I walked every day from sun up to sun down from 1989 to 1994. Right about that time I experienced another growth spurt (unfortunately, it was the horizontal kind rather than the vertical kind!) and the full contact suction sockets no longer fit me properly. At that point, I had two choices. I could go back out to Oklahoma City for another month or so (not economically viable at this point!) or go back to using my chair. Again being comfortable with who I was, I had no problem with going back to my chair. I was pushing once again. I basically used my chair from 1994 to present. I ran into a friend of mine, Bill Coleman, who told me that he and a friend of his, Jonas Seeberg, had just opened a clinic and they were located in Abingdon. To be honest, I really did not give it much credibility at first, I mean I was fitted at what was considered to be the best prosthetic center in the world, literally. I mean it would be nothing to be in this Oklahoma clinic and have the relative of a wealthy Saudi Arabian oilman come strolling in, or for them to completely close the clinic so Ted Kennedy Jr. could have a "secure" fitting.
Having been fitted at a clinic where world class prosthetists were united with cutting edge technology, any other clinic would surely pale by comparison. I can remember feeling right at home during my first tour of Real Life Prosthetics. It had been a while since I had been in a clinic of this caliber. Remember, I am using the best clinic known at the time as my measuring stick. As a user, I knew EXACTLY what I was looking for in terms of a prosthetist and in terms of components. I found both right in my own back yard!! I went through the fitting process watching Jonas use technology that was not even present in 1989! What was done by hand then was now being done with the help of computer aided design. VERY COOL! I am now walking independently once again with the same degree of ease as I did back in the 90's. Although I still use my chair (it is funny how you moderate a little after you turn 40!), I once again have the option, the choice to stand upright and walk across the floor. Words cannot begin to describe the expressions and comments of my 7 year old Brady, and my 4 year old Brandon, the first time they saw Dad walk. They had NEVER before experienced that. I recently had the pleasure of being able to walk through Luray Caverns and once again experience that with my children. What can I say? Thanks guys!! |
