John Berst Sr. takes incredibly long walks. It hasn't always been that way.

"I'm an amputee since 1962; I had the Ertl procedure in 1982," said the Lemont resident.

For the 20 years between the amputation surgery and the surgical procedure, Berst lived with phantom pains, bruises and blisters where his leg met his prosthetic leg.

"I went through that agonizing process that every amputee goes through, looking for the next best prosthetic device," he said.

He began with a mail-order device.

"When I had my limb made, I did not know anyone who had been an amputee," he said. That meant he had no one to talk about his frustrations, worries and pains.

Forty six years later, Berst would find himself treasurer for a foundation that makes available information on the latest surgical procedures and prosthetic devices. Started by a Joliet man, the foundation also provides limbs to amputees who would otherwise not be able to afford them.

Berst lost his left leg below the knee to bone cancer that developed in his ankle. He said he now feels lucky because he is a below-knee amputee. Because it is his left leg, it also does not hamper his ability to drive.

William Barr's battle

The founder of the foundation on which Berst serves was not so lucky. On June 2, 1970, William Barr, then an Illinois state representative, businessman and developer, walked out of his Joliet apartment, climbed into his Cadillac and turned the key. The next thing he remembered, according to a book he later wrote called "Whole Again," he was lying on the ground, hundreds of feet away from the car. A bomb had been placed in the car, causing it to explode.

Barr lost his right leg. He battled depression as do many amputees, but his went further. Barr tried to take his own life.

Tony Barr, Barr's son, was 25 when his father tried to overdose on sleeping pills. Tony Barr was living in Florida. In a strange twist of events, the day Barr lay in a hospital recovering from his attempted suicide, Tony joined him as an amputee.

The year was 1972. Tony was standing outside a restaurant, too close to a train passing by. His arm was caught in a freight train's handle. Barr was knocked down and his foot was caught under the train. A portion of his foot was severed by the train and numerous surgeries followed.

His father came down to the Florida hospital and made him a promise that would change not only his and his son's lives, but the lives of countless other amputees. William Barr promised his son they would learn to walk again together.

Six years later, William Barr, who had since met second-generation prosthetics expert Jan Stokosa, founded the Institute for the Advancement of Prosthetics. Stokosa was the director.

Finding better prosthetics

Berst also found his way to the Institute through Stokosa. In 1976, two years before William Barr founded the Institute, Berst learned of the man.

"My mother met a woman at the Louis Joliet mall who was a double amputee and she stopped her to ask her where she got her limbs because she walked so well," Berst said.

The answer was University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor.

"In that process, I learned about a prosthesis maker by the name of Stokosa," Berst said.

"He developed a clear plastic shell that (prosthetists) could actually look into to see if it did not fit well or if pressure points were present," Berst said.

The prosthetic had a gel sleeve covered in leather.

"It's a cushion between your skin and the wood or fiberglass of the prosthetic," Berst said.

Berst's setback

In 1984, Berst hit his next setback.

"By the mid-80s, I had a very, very serious blood blister on my leg," Berst said. "What I later found out was that it was caused by a nerve that moves itself to the side of the leg."

Berst's daughter worked in what is now Hinsdale Hospital by that time. Berst went to see her and noticed that a number of amputees were being treated at the hospital. His daughter introduced him to Dr. John Ertl, an amputee surgeon who was continuing the practice started by his father.

"At that point he discussed with me the Ertl procedure," Berst said. "I said yes, let's have the procedure."

The Ertl procedure was developed in 1920 by professor Dr. Janos Ertl Sr. of Hungary. According to the Barr Foundation Web site, the Ertl procedure uses bone grafts to give more stability to the amputated limb.

"It's like a stirrup; it's as strong as the heel of your foot," Berst said.

In addition, the nerves in the limb to be amputated are tied off, which stops the phantom pain that many amputees experience.

"In 20 years, I can count the times I have had a phantom pain," Berst said of the time since he had the procedure done.

After the Ertl procedure was complete, Berst needed to be fitted with a new prothesis. Berst was fitted and was introduced to the Institute for the Advancement of Prosthetics.

He was introduced to William Barr and read the book "Whole Again."

Foundation is born

In 1992, The Institute for the Advancement of Prosthetics was sold to the Hanger Orthopedic Group. The proceeds from that sale were used to establish The Barr Foundation. For the past five years, Berst has been treasurer of that foundation.

William Barr died in 1987, but Barr has continued the foundation he and his father began.

"My father used to say there are no coincidences in life. People are given a job to do and this was ours," Barr said. "Basically this foundation is a legacy to my father."

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