Help Billy get his leg in Australia

It was about 5 years ago on February 22, 2013  that Billy Wynne was critically injured following a fiery medical helicopter crash that took the lives of pilot Mark Montgomery and nurse Chris Denning on board and leaving Billy (the paramedic) about 70% burned and critically injured with almost every bone in his body broken. It has been 5 years since Billy Wynne has experienced what most of us take for granted on a daily basis like walking barefooted or using both of our hands to do even the most simple of things.


Billy has had too many surgeries to count since getting out of the hospital about 6 months after that crash.  In spite of that, you will never see him without a smile.  He has progressed in many ways over the past 5 years.  He has learned to fish and cook without the fingers on his left hand, he is back to figuring out how to use most of his tools without the fingers on his left hand, but the one problem that he cannot get ahead of is the problem he has with walking.  

Since Billy got out of the hospital about 4 1/2 years ago, Billy has had about 7 or 8 prosthetic legs at an average cost around $20,000 each.  Over the course of his life, he will need at least 2-3 DOZEN more prosthetic legs.  The way traditional prosthetic legs work now is that one, two or three liners must be pulled onto the stump leg, and the prosthetic gets it’s suction to stay on depending on how well it fits against these liners.  Because the circumference of Billy's stump leg was burned 100%, the skin is too uneven to hold a prosthetic leg on effectively.

 

 All of Billy’s prosthetics have came from a world renown prosthetic center.   Unfortunately in the case of a person that has a 100% burned limb, it is next to impossible to get a decent fit with a traditional prosthetic due to the inconsistency of the burned skin, constant fluid shift throughout the day and in Billy's particular case a large vertical uneven scar that runs the length of his stump leg.  Billy constantly has hip, back and limb pain due to the poor fit.  The poor fit often causes the prosthetic to just fall off.  He has a very uneven gate when walking, causing him to often fall.  It requires a huge amount of energy for Billy to try to walk with a prosthetic.

Recently, Billy discovered Osseointegration.  Osseointegration is a process where a titanium rod is inserted into the femur; the prosthetic then has a “quick connect” attaching it.  The bone then continues to grow around the rod further strengthening it. There are no liners to put on the burned stumped, no need to worry about the fluid shift throughout the day, no need to get a new prosthetic if your weight changes 10-15lbs. No need for 2-3 dozen more prosthetics throughout his life.

 This type of prosthetic will make it possible for Billy to literally run and play with his children.  He will even ride a bike again.  Essentially, it will be like giving Billy back the use of a normal leg through this type of prosthetic.    Unfortunately, this is not covered by Medicare which is Billy’s medical insurance because this surgery is not done in the US or cleared by the FDA at this time.   Billy's doctor is in Sydney, Australia.  The cost is approximately $85,000 - $90,000 for the leg. With the plane tickets to Australia being close to $20,000.  NONE OF THIS IS COVERED BY HIS INSURANCE.

Billy has been through so much already.  This GOFUNDME is being set up to try to help alleviate some of the financial stress associated with Billy's surgery and 7 week stay in Australia after the surgery while he recovers and learns to walk again.  If you would like to contribute any amount, no amount is too small for it to make a huge collective difference for this great guy.



Billy arrived in Sydney with his wife and two children about a week ago so that he could get the necessary preliminary pre-op things done before surgery.  Billy will need to be in Australia about 6-7 weeks.  

 

Billy had the Osseointegration surgery 3 days ago.  This is Billy headed to surgery.
 

His recovery is going well.  The physical therapists have had him up and putting weight on it since yesterday. Billy is in good spirits.  Calling his family via FaceTime to update with his progress.

 
A quick connect fitting will be attached to this.  The "knee" will 'snap' on followed by the lower leg of the prosthetic.



It gives Billy a great amount of comfort to have his son, Nick and daughter, Lily in Australia with him.  Wherever Billy is, he almost always has at least one or both children with him.  Lily lost her first tooth while in Australia.

Lily was born about 6 months after the crash happened. June 26, 2013 Billy's bed was moved from the Burn Unit of Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City  to the 4th floor Labor and Deliver unit so that he could be there with his wife, Katy as they welcomed this beautiful child into the world.  (Integris Baptist was Billy's 'home hospital, ' the same hospital his crew had left from on the morning of February 22, 2013 before crashing a few minutes later).   After Lily's birth, Billy's goal was to get a prosthetic leg and learn to walk by the time this child was walking so that he could hold her hand as she was taking her first steps.  He never thought that almost 5 years later, he would still be struggling with the same issues of poor fit, hip pain, back pain, skin breakdown from the prosthetic liners and so many other issues related to trying to get a decent fit with a traditional prosthetic that would allow him to walk properly.  Fortunately Billy discovered OSSEOINTEGRATION  implant surgery in Australia. 



Osseointegration surgery will give Billy back as much as his life as possible.  Not only will this give Billy a more normal life, but we want to bring broad awareness to this type of prosthetic to the United States for all of the many military men that come back to the U.S. burned and missing limbs from war, very much in the same position as Billy.

Osseointegration can be done on upper limbs also.  Osseointegration has been done for 50 years in Australia and in mainstream clinical surgeries in Australia since 1995.  It is still quite a few years away from being approved by the FDA for use in the United States.

The following picture shows what happens to a persons hip and their femur with a traditional prosthetic.  The Before picture shows how the femur is no longer lined up with the hip or the knee, causing significant back & hip pain and osteoporosis of the bone.  On the right, the After picture of osseointegration, the hip and femur are both realigned the way nature intended allowing the amputee to now walk with a normal gate, with no back and hip pain.


The following information describes osseointegration prosthetics in further detail. 

Osseointegration Information from Dr Al Muderis:

Osseointegration is derived from the Greek ‘osteon’ meaning bone, and the Latin ‘integrare’, which means to make whole. It is defined as the direct contact between living bone and the surface of a synthetic, often titanium based, implant.

Osseointegration’s original application was in bone and joint replacement surgeries and not only has it dramatically enhanced these surgeries and their outcomes but now it is also used to vastly improve the quality of life for amputees.

Clinically osseointegration has been used since 1995, utilising a skeletally integrated titanium implant that is connected through an opening in the stump (stoma) to an external prosthetic limb.  The traditional suction prosthesis is no longer required and perfect fit is achieved via a torque controlled knee connector.

This allows for direct contact to the ground, which provides greater stability, more control and minimises energy exerted.

Walking with the OGAP-OPL allows for natural loading of the hip joint and the femur which encourages bone growth, creates a more natural gait and requires less physical exertion

Any weight or fluid variations of the stump have no effect on fit or functionality

No bulky socket which results in a natural streamlined look in clothes
 
Freedom of Mobility

Allows for full freedom of movement in activities ranging from walking to cycling, recreational activities and physical work

Muscular strength is developed freely minimizing muscle wastage of the stump

Movement is not restricted by the protruding edges of a socket allowing for greater ease and comfort sitting, standing and walking

The direct connection between femoral bone, implant and knee enables free, natural pivoting movements.

Easy Attachment and Osseoperception

The knee prosthesis can easily be attached and removed with ease within just a few seconds
The patient regains their sense of proprioception, which is the unconscious perception of the position of the body, movement and spatial orientation in relation to the external environment. 

This means the patient regains the ability to feel the ground beneath them as they walk and can differentiate between different surfaces such as carpet, grass, tiles and uneven ground. This allows for safer and more confident movement even in unfamiliar areas or dim light.

Thank you for taking time to read this.  It is our hope to spread the word of OSSEOINTEGRATION for individuals like Billy that has missing limbs, digits or both.

           (picture taken months later, on the same helicopter pad that Billy's helicopter left from the day of the crash)

Though broken and tattered on the outside, Billy's spirit has remained strong and resolute on the inside.  His desire has been to educate and help other post trauma/burn victims.  Having the Osseointegration surgery  gets him one step closer to being able to do that for other people that could really benefit from the knowledge that he has to share.