Marc's Story
Hi. My name is Marc and I live in New York (Long Island) were I was raised. I was born in 1972 in Glendale Queens. The day I was born the Doctor told my Mother, that because of a space in my femur bone (due to improper fusing of the bone) "your child will probably never walk, and will most likely be in a wheelchair the rest of his life".
Well, here it is 30 years later and not only do I walk, but according to my Doctors and Prosthetist, I walk, run and jump very well for a class C PFFD.
I have been operated on seven times (from the age of 3 to the age of 23) to try to fix my problem and enable me to live a more "able-bodied life". At a young age I realized that I was different, but I also realized that I had to focus on the positives. My life was (and is) not about what I can't do, but what I can do.
My parents watched me closely when I started to walk as a child and did not encourage it. The doctors informed them that my right leg would not grow at the same rate as my left leg and collectively agreed to make sure no bad habits started. Around the age of 3, I was fitted for a prosthetic brace. I walked with this brace (and a straight-legged limp) until I was 8 1/2 years old. That year (March, 1981) I had surgery on my right leg. The operating surgeon at Columbia Presbyterian in NYC, Dr. Harold Dick, amputated my leg and fused my knee to form an "above the knee" stump which I could place in a bending prosthesis.
I was always a very active child, interested in playing many sports.
Before my amputation, I did many things such as play catch, soccer, swim, shoot baskets and ride my bicycle. I also took karate for 1 month. However, I felt "limited" because my brace would not bend and weighed about 13 pounds. Also, I was taller than most kids my age and therefore had to carry around a long leg as well. I did not do much physical activity in school. During recess I walked around a lot, had a catch with someone, climbed the monkey bars or sat on the seesaw. Once in a while when I ran, I would skip/run and I knew that I was slow and had a limp. On School trips, I would tire quickly and my leg would often stick out and get in the way.
Once my knee was fused and my foot was amputated, I felt as if a whole new world of possibilities were opened up to me. In September of 1981, I participated in Gym classes for the first time. I can still picture the faces of my classmates when they finally got to see how much I loved sports and how athletic I really was. Also, I do not recall ever getting a grade lower than an A- in Phys Ed. I still did not run fast, but I moved well enough to participate in more games during recess, as well as Field Day events where I won one 3rd, two 2nd and one 1st place ribbon. My confidence grew as well. By October of 1981 I joined a soccer league where I played until late spring of 1983. I also went to summer camp during those years where I canoed, learned to sail, swam in races, and competed in many other events such as fencing, archery, hikes, and basketball and dodgeball games. Six months before I graduated High School, I won the student award for outstanding sportsmanship and citizenship. I went away to college in 1990 and continued to stay athletically active. Since my amputation over 21 years ago, I have done many things which include:
Skiing (downhill/slolom)
Swimming events/races
Volleyball
Basketball
Bowling
Surfing
Riding a bike (while pedaling with 2 legs)
Running in track races
Softball
Racquetball
Dancing at functions/parties
and competing in any sport in Gym classes or intramurals.
I was also a pool lifeguard from 1991-1996, and learned to drive with the aide of a left accelerator pedal.
When I turned 16, I started dating, and I have been Married since the Fall of 1995, so the concerns my Parents had about whether or not girls would be interested in me, even though I am disabled, were terminated.
Although I have gone to Therapists to try to improve my gate, I still limp. However, I do not have certain muscles and bones in my right hip that are needed to perform certain functions. Most people who do not know me well ask "what happened to your foot?" Or, "Did you break your ankle?" When I tell them I wear a full length prosthesis because I only have 1 leg, they do not believe me. When I am at the store in line (wearing pants) the people around me can't tell of my condition. I walk with a limp which is commonly known as a torso tilt. My body (above the hip socket) compensates for what I am missing. I have been moderately working out with free weights since I was 15, so my body gets plenty of excersize. I have been involved in Martial Arts since 1999. I have trained in Tae Su Do, Ju Jitsu, Kempo/Tae Kwon Do and mostly in an all inclusive art known as Modern Farang Mu Sul, and I usually get to the swimming pool throughout the year. Therefore, as far as therapeutic excersize goes, my right stump and hip get plenty.
I remember being eight years old and sitting in my room with my sister the day before I went to the hospital. We were looking at my small right leg, focusing on the knee and small foot and realizing that my leg, as I have come to know it, would soon be gone. Was I scared? Yes. Was I comfortable with what was about to happen? Definitely!! I remember actually looking forward to my amputation because I had faith that it was a means to an end, and that my life was about to change for the better. I was picturing everything I was already able to do, and thinking how wonderful it was going to be to do all those things better, as well as picture the things I had yet to do, such as; go up and down stairs foot-over-foot, run without skipping, kneel on two knees, bend my leg in the car, on an airplane, at the movies, at hockey arena's etc..
Through my life, I have tried to live above my circumstances, not under them. A path was placed before my parents and I when I was a child, and to this very day, I feel we made the right choice. If I never got my leg amputated, I know I would still be able to live a somewhat productive life wearing a brace, but I would often be wondering "what if?". Now, I feel blessed to say my situation has gotten better. If only that Doctor who said I would be confined to a wheelchair could see me today.
I realize that not every case is the same because there are different types of PFFD 's. I hope my story inspires anyone who reads it and I encourage corrective surgery for those who "need" it.
You can contact Marc at MJCASTARWARS@aol.com