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High-tech Prosthetics Keep Soldiers MovingBy Spc. Lorie JewellArmy News Service
Soldiers benefiting from technological wonders like the Otto Bock microprocessor C-Leg knee unit or the myoelectric Utah 3 arm marvel not only at the existence of the devices, but that they are receiving such top-shelf products. Spc. Sean Lewis, 20, for instance, knew very little about prosthetics just a few months ago. "Lt. Dan from `Forrest Gump,' that's about it," said Lewis, illustrating the extent of his knowledge with a reference to a movie character that lost both legs in the Vietnam War but who showed up toward the end of the movie using titanium alloy prosthetics the main character, Gump, called "magic legs." A Jan. 21 mortar attack on an Army camp near Baqubah, Iraq changed that. Lewis was a communications equipment repair specialist attached to the 588th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas. It was early evening and he was standing next to his vehicle, talking and smoking with two friends - Spc. Gabriel Palacios and Pfc. James David Parker - when, without warning, a mortar round hit them. From the ground, Lewis recalled looking up to see most of his right leg completely severed from his body. Palacios and Parker were dead. Two months later, Lewis was standing on two feet - one natural and the other rubber, attached to an aluminum pylon straight-leg prosthetic - in Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Orthotics and Prosthetics laboratory. "I loved it," Lewis said. "Even though I was using crutches, I felt like I was up on both legs again. The prosthetic helped with a lot of the phantom pain." Lewis was fitted the following week with the latest high-tech prosthetic for lower extremity amputees, the C-Leg. Equipped with a microprocessor knee and hydraulic pneumatic controls, the leg brings patients like Lewis as close as they can be to a natural gait, said Ralph Urgolites, head of the Orthotics and Prosthetics lab. Whereas a traditional prosthetic leg is swung forward using body weight, the C-Leg moves according to information it collects through computerized sensors that send feedback data 50 times per second between the foot and the knee. "It's amazing what they can do now,'' Lewis said. "I've met with lots of people here and until they told me, I didn't even know they had a prosthetic on." As of mid-March, Urgolites has counted 83 Soldiers - including at least one woman - who have come through the prosthetics lab since Operation Iraqi Freedom began. Several have also come from Afghanistan, where Soldiers continue to face danger while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, 19 Soldiers have lost upper extremity limbs, he noted That's an unusually high percentage, Urgolites noted, compared to the national average of 2.5 upper extremity cases for every 100 amputees. The high volume of Soldiers in need of prosthetics forced the department to hire part-time help, increasing a normal staff of four or five prosthetists to seven or eight, depending on the need, Urgolites said. Twice, the need has been close to overwhelming - once in November and before that in August, when seven Soldiers with upper extremity amputations arrived at one time, he said. "It's very rare to see more than two upper extremities at a time,'' Urgolites said. One of the newest devices for such amputees is the computer-assisted myoelectric prosthetic. The Utah 3 arm allows the elbow and wrist to move simultaneously, while previous models were limited to separate movements, Urgolites said. The first six Utah 3 models off the production line went to Soldiers at Walter Reed following a round of tests last summer, he added. Sgt. Steve Clark, 36, is one of the six. He lost his right arm above the elbow in October when the Humvee he was gunning on a road outside of Baghdad was hit by a remote-controlled improvised explosive device. Like Lewis, Clark said he knew nothing about prosthetics before being injured. Not only is he impressed with the technology, but that Soldiers are getting it as well. With the cost of each prosthetic device ranging from $20,000 to $100,000, Clark is grateful the Army is investing so much into the care of Soldiers. The hardest part about wearing the prosthetic, he said, is remembering to use it. His natural instinct is to take the fastest route to getting something done, which sometimes leaves the prosthetic idle. The more he takes the time to manage the Utah 3, the easier it gets, Clark said. Clark was a multiple launch rocket system crewmember with the 127th Field Artillery from Babenhausen, Germany. He's planning to take a medical retirement and pursue a job as a resource counselor with the Veteran's Administration, working with Soldiers at Walter Reed. "Before all of this happened, I would have thought that losing an arm would be too devastating, that I would just want to crawl in a hole,'' Clark said. "But that's not the case." Going through the recovery process side by side with other Soldiers makes a big difference, Clark and Lewis said. "There's an unspoken brotherhood,'' said Lewis. "We encourage each other. Sometimes we taunt each other." Added Clark: "There's always someone who has it worse." For as much as Soldiers motivate each other, their can-do attitudes have an equally positive effect on the staff, Urgolites said. "When a Soldier says `why can't I do that?' it makes us stop and ask ourselves `Why can't we do that?'" Urgolites said. "We've come a long way from years past, when the attitude might have been to be satisfied with just getting them walking again. Now, it's that we should do more, and we can." One innovation the staff is currently exploring is how to combine two existing prosthetic legs - one for use in the shower, with tiny suction cups on the sole, and the other for swimming - into a single prosthetic. That would eliminate the need to switch from one to the other, said research prosthetist Joe Miller. Miller and others are hoping research will clear up some uncertainties as they push forward. They'd like to find out how much moisture or heat certain prosthetics can take, for instance. Or how to protect a Soldier on the battlefield who has a microprocessor in his prosthetic leg that might emit a signal, potentially exposing him to the enemy. "We're stretching the boundaries of rehabilitative care with prosthetics,'' Miller said. "We believe it's the right thing to do, and until that can be disproved, we're moving forward." The ultimate goal is to make each Soldier as whole as possible and enable them to carry on with normal lives, Miller and Urgolites said. That includes remaining on active duty, if they so choose and the medical board determines they are fit to do so. There are Soldiers who have shown it is possible to stay on active duty with a prosthetic - or two. Dana Bowman, for instance, lost both legs when he collided mid-air with a fellow member of the Golden Knights parachute team during a 1994 training exercise. With two prosthetic legs, Bowman jumped five months later while on a pass from Walter Reed. He re-enlisted nine months after the accident and completed more than 800 jumps with his prosthetics before retiring in 1996 as a sergeant first class. Bowman has been working since as a motivational speaker, including with the Army's recruiting command. (www.danabowman.com) Bowman has visited Soldiers at Walter Reed several times in the past year to share his experiences and offer whatever assistance he can provide. He's amazed at the advancements in technology and gratified by the staff's dedication. "What they're doing to help these Soldiers is remarkable,'' Bowman said. "I've seen incredible patient care throughout." Some Soldiers have left Walter Reed with prosthetics and returned to active duty units while awaiting the medical board process, officials said, but an exact number wasn't available. One Soldier, Staff Sgt. Andrew McAffrey, is back on duty at Fort Bragg, N.C., with a prosthetic right hand that replaced the one he lost in Afghanistan last year. McAffrey and a few other Soldiers accompanied Urgolites last month to a program on the history of and advancements in prosthetics at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History. Urgolites gave a power point demonstration on what's being done at Walter Reed that included a video clip of McAffrey using a microprocessor "Greifer" prosthetic to accomplish ordinary tasks, like picking up a bottle or unfastening a wristwatch. McAffrey also knocked out some push-ups, using a fingerless prosthetic hand he discovered in a catalog. "He was having difficulty doing push ups with another prosthetic because the fingers kept bending,'' Urgolites said. "So he found one that was designed for a child, got the largest size, and adapted it for what he needed to do." Lewis, 20, is also determined to return to his unit. From the time he was a little kid, all he's ever wanted to be is a Soldier. Beyond that, he wants to be a marathon runner again and someday, wear the rank of command sergeant major. Those goals and unwavering support from Jessica, his wife of one year, and senior leaders in his chain of command, keeps Lewis focused on doing whatever he can to make it happen. "I love the Army, I love everything about it,'' Lewis said. "This is something I will do. I'm not going to let them kick me out." Add your commentYou must be logged in to leave comments.  Contracting: A Sure Bet For Veterans July 10, 2009 If you are interested in working in contracting once you return to civilian life, the Federal Contractor Program can help you get a jump on your career. Use Your Military Training to Become an Operations Manager July 10, 2009 You can translate your supply chain know-how into a successful civilian career as an Operations Manager. All you need is a degree. Build a Career in Engineering July 10, 2009 Take your engineering skills to the next level with a bachelor's degree. It can help prepare you for a civilian job as an engineering manager. >> MILITARY NEWS ARCHIVE |
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