A New Leg, A New Journey
Donation protected
Just 6 months ago, my right leg was amputated above the knee. Years spent stuggling with physical and psychological wounds sustained in the Iraq War made me have to make one of the hardest decisions of my life.
Recovery has been extraordinarly difficult. Even with a hardened warrior ethos, the pain associated with amputation is sometimes unbearable. That said, you won't find someone with greater motivation to move forward and to help others.
Above the knee amputees expend 65% to 200% more energy doing the exact same things an average person does. That means that mobility is significantly impaired. Pain and exhaustion are commonplace.
Much of this is influenced by extreme limitations imposed by the prosthetic sockets above the knee amputees use. While lower leg prosthetic technology continues to advance greatly, prosthetic sockets (the plastic shell that encases the residual leg) are more like Civil War relics than 21st Century bionics.
Imagine your foot being fitted with a hard plastic mold (like a bucket) and then walking around on that all day. Without rubber. Without cushioning. Except, in the case of above the knee amputees, this hard plastic socket is jammed upward and into your groin area all day long. As a result, the vast majority of above the knee amputees spend a lifetime managing chafing, cuts, bruises, and infections that often result in being wheelchair bound for protacted periods of time.
There is a game changer, however. Osseointegration. This new medical advancement consists of a surgical procedure that fuses titanium directly into the bone (femur). An implant extends from within the amputated limb to the exterior of the body then connecting directly to a prosthetic leg. So, a socket no longer becomes necessary.
Only about 300 people in the world have been able to undergo this procedure due to its newness and expense. Here in the United States, the procedure isn't even available. Though I have reached out to the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs, who are sadly half-stepping with R/D and bureaucratic red tape, Osseointegration will not become available for years into the future. Even forward leaning institutions now starting these new medical advancements, like the University of California - San Francisco, still remain unable to perform the surgery.
Meanwhile, Osseointegration is now available in Europe and Australia for those who can afford it. I've been in communication with the Osseointegration Group of Australia (see video), who are ready and willing to perform this procedure to help Tuesday and me move forward with our continued advocacy efforts.
Your donation and support will mean more than I can possibly articulate. It will enable me to walk twice as far per day than I can on this socket. It will translate into the ability to do far more work helping others than I can on this damn leg.
Please help me continue our mission of connecting with others around the nation and world in positive and meaningful ways. Whether small or large, your donation will make a huge difference. You might consider asking a company or organization you are affiliated with to make a contribution.
Regardless of size or type, your help and support are enormously appreciated. May your Light shine brightly and may it be reflected back upon your life and those you love.
Recovery has been extraordinarly difficult. Even with a hardened warrior ethos, the pain associated with amputation is sometimes unbearable. That said, you won't find someone with greater motivation to move forward and to help others.
Above the knee amputees expend 65% to 200% more energy doing the exact same things an average person does. That means that mobility is significantly impaired. Pain and exhaustion are commonplace.
Much of this is influenced by extreme limitations imposed by the prosthetic sockets above the knee amputees use. While lower leg prosthetic technology continues to advance greatly, prosthetic sockets (the plastic shell that encases the residual leg) are more like Civil War relics than 21st Century bionics.
Imagine your foot being fitted with a hard plastic mold (like a bucket) and then walking around on that all day. Without rubber. Without cushioning. Except, in the case of above the knee amputees, this hard plastic socket is jammed upward and into your groin area all day long. As a result, the vast majority of above the knee amputees spend a lifetime managing chafing, cuts, bruises, and infections that often result in being wheelchair bound for protacted periods of time.
There is a game changer, however. Osseointegration. This new medical advancement consists of a surgical procedure that fuses titanium directly into the bone (femur). An implant extends from within the amputated limb to the exterior of the body then connecting directly to a prosthetic leg. So, a socket no longer becomes necessary.
Only about 300 people in the world have been able to undergo this procedure due to its newness and expense. Here in the United States, the procedure isn't even available. Though I have reached out to the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs, who are sadly half-stepping with R/D and bureaucratic red tape, Osseointegration will not become available for years into the future. Even forward leaning institutions now starting these new medical advancements, like the University of California - San Francisco, still remain unable to perform the surgery.
Meanwhile, Osseointegration is now available in Europe and Australia for those who can afford it. I've been in communication with the Osseointegration Group of Australia (see video), who are ready and willing to perform this procedure to help Tuesday and me move forward with our continued advocacy efforts.
Your donation and support will mean more than I can possibly articulate. It will enable me to walk twice as far per day than I can on this socket. It will translate into the ability to do far more work helping others than I can on this damn leg.
Please help me continue our mission of connecting with others around the nation and world in positive and meaningful ways. Whether small or large, your donation will make a huge difference. You might consider asking a company or organization you are affiliated with to make a contribution.
Regardless of size or type, your help and support are enormously appreciated. May your Light shine brightly and may it be reflected back upon your life and those you love.
Organizer
Luis Carlos Montalván
Organizer
New York, NY
