Strolling Through the Prairie

Posted by: Nate
Posted: Tue, September 29 2009 at 7:30am

I’ve had numerous occasions this summer to walk through areas of tall grass prairie.  They are often choked with dense grass growth and thus can be a challenge for anyone to walk in, much less, an amputee.  I’ve enjoyed these opportunities to walk the prairie because I love the open space, I am constantly amazed by the diversity and richness of native prairies, and because I don’t have to fear a stumble even in dense grass. 
If I wore a conventional mechanical knee I would be limited to “watching from the sidelines” as others traipsed through the prairie meadows without me.  I think this is often a position that amputees are placed in because of fear or mechanical limitations.  Thankfully sitting back and watching is no longer required. 

The computer in the C-Leg does something that will help you walk through these situations.  A key safety feature comes into play here; the computer will not release into swing phase (no resistance) unless certain weight and position criteria are met.  When the knee is bent those criteria are not met and thus the knee maintains resistance, allowing you to walk even when obstacles are grabbing at your leg.  Knowing that the knee will not release into free swing allows you the freedom to walk knowing that the knee won’t buckle, even when it’s being pulled on by the grass you’re walking through.  The bent-knee resistance also comes into play in these ventures into often uneven terrain when a stumble occurs.  When you stumble, the resistance offered by the knee catches you safely, arresting your forward movement even when bent; this is referred to as ‘stumble recovery’.  By pushing into that resistance you have a solid base from which to instantly change the direction of your momentum.  This stumble recovery during a stumble is invaluable.  Often during a stumble you are able to avoid greater damage (or embarrassment) by changing your direction and moving quickly in a new one. 

This incredible capability is necessary for me as a prairie biologist and in my free time, as a hunter.  One of my favorite activities is pursuing upland birds like pheasants and quail, as well as waterfowl, both ducks and geese.  In the settings I often encounter in the field, stumble recovery is repeatedly relied upon as various bunches of grasses, small trees, and other vegetation are grabbing at my feet. 

When I look at the picture as a whole I see just how important my C-Leg is to my job, my hobbies, and my general well-being.  Having walked on other prosthetic knees I will say that I am fortunate to have the knee that I have now.  This knee gets me where I want to go and allows me to work or play as I choose once I’ve arrived.  I hope that you have the opportunity to walk on a C-Leg too and enjoy that same good fortune.
Until next time.

Otto Bock HealthCare pays Nate a small fee for his essays.

Surprise…it’s a girl!

Posted by: Nate
Posted: Fri, September 18 2009 at 9:41am

Well, I’m not always one for surprises but this one was a good one.  My wife, our 17 month old daughter and I were expecting to add a little boy to our flock when our second child was born in late-August.  We had bought a few blue clothes, a blue teddy bear, and a few other boy-themed accoutrements.   When our little one joined the world we were greeted with the doctor’s eyes instantly popping wide and the statement “It’s a girl!”  After a half a second of mental confusion we were more than overjoyed.  She was quickly shuttled away to be cleaned up and warmed up.  My wife and I looked at each other and smiled.  Since my family is almost all boys my wife was surprised by having a single girl, let alone a pair of them.  We had a girl’s name just in case we were surprised and it’s good that we did.  So, we named her Maria Grace.  She is more petite than her big sister, just a bit under seven pounds, but over an inch shorter; and, thank goodness, she looks like her mama.

Maria’s older sister, Lily, thinks the world of her.  She loves to touch her head and give her lots of kisses.  She’s not quite sure what Maria is all about but she thinks she’s pretty cool overall.  We were concerned about a little jealousy but so far so good. 

So, this past couple weeks has been all about trying to discover what our new reality will be with two little ones.  So far our new reality involves less sleep, something resembling a zombie-like trance, and a bit more crying around the house.  Remembering back to our first daughter in her younger days I realize that these trying days are short-lived and thus I try not to be too stressed by it all. 

Just before my first daughter was born I was interviewed by a TV news crew about being a C-Leg user.  They asked what I liked most about my C-Leg and I mentioned how excited I was to carry my little one and not worry about falling down.  Now that joy is multiplied!  The original “little one” is a bit bigger now and her little sister is tiny but I could carry both of them and not be concerned about falling.  That quality of life is priceless.

I’ve got to get back to my girls now.  Until next time. 
Nate

Otto Bock HealthCare pays Nate a small fee for his essays.

Getting Ready for Baby

Posted by: Nate
Posted: Thu, September 10 2009 at 2:35pm

This week has been filled with busy days in the office and busy nights at home.  Our normal night at home for my wife, my little girl, and me involves eating dinner together, reading some books to my little girl, and spending as much time together as we can before bed time.  This week that schedule has been interrupted by what is yet to come.  You see, my wife is due with our next baby in seven days.  As such we have been hurriedly preparing for the arrival of the little boy we are expecting to round out this wonderful quartet that is our family. 

My wife, bless her heart, is in the midst of the “nesting phase” and feels a primal yearning to get the baby’s room ready for his arrival.  She’s been running, a little frantically at times, to get our little girl moved from the nursery into her own “big girl room” so that she can get the other room ready for the baby.  You wouldn’t know by her energy level that she’s nine months pregnant. 

So, we’ve been running errands to buy this or that to round out something we’ve had started and just can’t seem to complete.  I’ve been lifting, moving, putting things together, and trying to get projects checked off the list.  I’ve spent time pounding nails, measuring to see if something will fit, drilling holes and screwing brackets into the wall. 

As I reflect on all of this activity I realize that it’s not every day that I stop and think “I’m thankful that I’ve got my C-Leg”.  The reality is that I’m too busy to stop and think about that, I’m working hard and getting things done.  I’m able to do things like take my little girl out of her bath and carry her off to bed.  I’m able to lift and carry a bed frame and mattress up and down the stairs bound for her “big girl room” without fear of falling.  I can climb a step ladder to hang a picture without fear that my leg will collapse and drop me on the floor. 

As the days tick away this coming week I look forward to the opportunity to meet my newborn son for the first time.  I look forward to seeing the future in his face and wondering about all of the opportunities that he will be given in the world.  I look forward to hearing his first cry, feeling his hand grasp my finger for the first time, and feeling the warmth of his body cuddled in the crook of my arm.  I’ll report again after he has arrived (hopefully with a few pictures).
Until next time.
Nate

Otto Bock HealthCare pays Nate a small fee for his essays.

Close Encounter of the Deer Kind

Posted by: Nate
Posted: Fri, August 21 2009 at 8:17am

I had an incredible encounter this week with a couple of deer.  I was out in the field checking on a property my company is working on.  I had walked down a near-vertical hillside down into a creek bottom and I was going to walk up the next steep hill to find a fence.  I decided instead that I’d go around the hill at the bottom and find the fence on the other side.  As I turned around I noticed a whitetail doe and fawn that had slipped in behind me.  I froze right where I was and did my best to remain motionless.

The doe knew that something wasn’t right so she looked, smelled, and tried her hardest to figure out what I was.  I was wearing a lot of green/brown clothing but my arms and face were exposed.  I held a walking stick in one hand and a camera tripod in the other.  I must have blended in well with the background because she had a heck of a time trying to figure me out. 

The doe began about 30 yards away but she closed the distance hesitantly over the course of 10 minutes, her fawn following closely behind.  She kept bobbing her head up and down looking at me from different angles and trying to get me to move.  The wind was perfect in my face for most of the time so I figured that she wouldn’t be able to smell me.  This little canyon I was in caused the wind to swirl a of couple times and I swore that she was going to catch my scent.  Inexplicably she didn’t smell me and she continued my way. 

As the doe got closer she got even edgier, bobbing her head incessantly, looking at me from all angles and sniffing the ground trying to smell my trail.  She stood where I had walked mere minutes before (with bug spray on my legs no less) and could not smell me.  I stood motionless; the only movement I gave away was blinking and breathing.  She crept closer yet, closing the distance to the point that I could look directly into her eyes.  She stood at 5 yards and tried to figure out just what I was.  For some reason just then I realized that I had been standing with death grip on my walking stick and my weight was shifted all onto one leg, which had fallen asleep.  I shifted slightly to remedy my problem and that slight movement prompted her to bolt.  She jumped over a branch that was six feet in height and ran about 40 yards away.  Her fawn had been feeding around me at 15 yards the entire time.  Since the fawn had not run she came back to check me out again. 

In that brief respite I took the opportunity to engage the standing mode on my C-Leg so I could stand more comfortably and properly allow my leg to stop tingling.  For the next ten minutes of scrutiny I was able to stand in a relaxed position easily without the pain I had experienced earlier. 

Before it was all over she had closed the distance to 4 yards (12 feet!) and had run off and come back four times.  I stood completely still for 20 minutes at least throughout this entire encounter and was completely exhausted.  Finally she’d had enough and the two of them ran up the hill behind me, white tails waving to announce my presence to the world. 

It was an incredible encounter that is just about the closest I’ve ever been to a live deer.  It was a great memory that I will always cherish.
I love my job.

Otto Bock HealthCare pays Nate a small fee for his essays.

Interesting Reactions and Interactions

Posted by: Nate
Posted: Fri, August 14 2009 at 4:27pm

I would put this under the category of “Kids say the cutest things” or “How to be an amputee ambassador”.  Over the years I’ve had incredible and very pronounced reactions from both children and adults when they’ve noticed my C-Leg.  I usually get quite a chuckle seeing the kids whose eyes get as big at tea cups when they catch a glimpse of my leg.  I’ve also gotten some really great comments from little ones who have no inhibitions that you just have to love. 

Many years ago while my wife and I were traversing the grounds of an amusement park I noticed a little boy of about six years of age who clearly had taken note of my knee.  I spotted him as he spotted my knee and I saw his eyes get huge with disbelief.  As he and his family walked by I heard him remark to his dad, “Dad, did you see that?  He’s got a robot leg!”  That one made me laugh.  It was completely unexpected and I thought quite funny as well. 

Just recently my three year old niece used a different term when she asked me “where is your machine leg?”  She couldn’t quite understand how I went from walking around on two legs to having a short stump on one side.  She was quite interested when I used a pull sock to seat my residual limb into the socket.  For a little girl who often will speak without pause for minutes on end she was quiet for several minutes taking in the spectacle that is my leg. 

I’ve had some other interactions as well that are less pleasant or at least certainly less funny.  I’ve had several instances where parents quashed their children’s inquisitive nature when the child asked about my leg.  They have often shushed the child, looking at me with uncertainty, and proceeded to walk away briskly.  I wonder if I could have turned many of those moments into teaching moments so that those children learned that an amputee isn’t that different, or weird, or even worse, to be feared. 

I think some people are uncomfortable because they’re afraid that I’m overly sensitive to the circumstances surrounding my amputation.  The thinking goes that maybe I had a car accident or some trauma and thus I’ve got issues with people talking about my leg.  You obviously never know a person’s story just by looking at them so I understand to some degree where that thinking arises.  However, the failure in that logic is that fact that I don’t try to hide my knee; I’ve got it out there for the whole world to see.  In light of that, I would hope at least, they might consider that I’m not ashamed of my amputation and am open to talking about it. 

I wish more people would ask me about my knee because it’s such a great teaching tool.  I can not only talk about what the knee does but I can show them the capabilities of today’s prosthetic knees.  Before I became an amputee it didn’t occur to me how little I knew about prosthetic knees or prosthetics in general.  I have to remember to put myself in the shoes of others realizing that they know as little about prosthetics as I used to.  The key is relating a prosthesis to something they’ve already seen or heard about.  One comment that often resonates with people is when I mention that this is the same knee that many of the amputee soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan are walking on.  It seems that just about everybody has seen some kind of news story about the technology that the soldiers are getting these days. 

So, in if you are an amputee I would encourage you to be proud of how you are different.  Feel free to talk to others and educate them about what life is like with a prosthesis.  You will positively influence the people you speak with and you will improve their interactions with amputees in the future.  With as simple a thing as a conversation you can have an impact on how they see the amputee community and how they relate to all of us in the future.  Be an ambassador and you will help to make the world a better place. 

Until next time.
Nate

Otto Bock HealthCare pays Nate a small fee for his essays.