The road to my ERTL amputation was a long one. At 17, I was involved in a car wreck that crushed both of my ankles. Nine years and ten surgeries later (in 3 different states), I had a minimally functioning left ankle (with 5 degrees of total flexion) that caused me much pain and took away the active life that I had once known.

            While still in college, I had an artificial ankle joint implanted that gave me some relief for about 3 months. At that time, I lost a tendon due to extreme swelling in the joint and everything went downhill afterward. I tried to do the best I could using the artificial joint until I got out of college and could get some better insurance. The amount of medicines I was taking is staggering to look back on. I moved from strong medications to stronger medications as they would, typically, work for about 6 weeks at best—that is, if I could stomach taking them at all. By this time I had been wearing a post-surgical walking boot for around 3 years. It wasn’t a very good fashion statement.

             I moved to middle Georgia in June of 2002 and started a job teaching 2nd grade. Although the job is fun and I love the students, I was miserable to say the least. I managed to do the job using crutches, a cane, or my wheelchair but I had problems remembering things as simples as names and dates. My daily ”medication cocktail“ made me feel like I was in a constant fog. The worst part was, they did very little to help me. I referred to it as ”taking off the edge.“ All of the medications didn’t stop any pain, they just made my brain forget how sharp it was (along with lots of other VALUABLE information).

            I couldn’t go shopping, get my own groceries, or do my laundry standing up. My parents had to take my dog because I couldn’t walk her and clean up after her. Much of my time at home was spent on my hands and knees crawling around. By this time, at school, I was full-time in my wheelchair. I had no friends outside of work as I never went anywhere. I was in CONSTANT pain morning, noon, and night no matter how much I kept my foot elevated, iced it, or took my meds. I, literally, had no life. In December of 2002, I bit the bullet and went back to the surgeon who did my ankle joint replacement for my last attempt at surgical correction—a subtalar fusion. Mind you, I had already been doing research on amputation. Even though my artificial crusted over with arthritis and had very little movement, I walked like a duck (if and when I walked), and I was in tremendous pain, the doctor wouldn’t even entertain the idea of ”giving up“ and doing an amputation. The joint was cleaned of arthritis but the attempted subtalar fusion subsequently failed after 13 weeks of me being casted and non-weight bearing. I kept on working through more medication and pain, but was terribly disappointed to find that my doctor was more worried about his FDA paperwork and the failure of the joint than he was about my physical and mental well-being.

            At this point, Spring 2003, I got in touch with a local prosthetist that I had already spoken with—Jim Young. He was very honest with me and, being an amputee himself, could tell me lots of personal information that others couldn’t. He had me watch the Barr Foundation video ”Beyond the Bridge“ that explained the Ertl Amputation procedure and really pushed for me to have it done. He realized that I didn’t want to continue to sit in a wheelchair all my life. Prior to my left ankle giving out, I played softball, rugby, basketball, flag football, ran, lifted weights, swam, and biked. I did everything I possibly could and wanted to get back to doing those things. Jim had the foresight to know that the Ertl procedure would allow me to do more things than I ever dreamed I’d be able to do.

            I was put in touch with the Ohio Willow Wood company in Columbus, Ohio. They received my x-rays and a brief history of my problem and chatted with me via phone. I really didn’t do much myself, to be honest. OWW’s Ray Francis consulted with a local doctor, Dr. Atilla Poka, and decided that I would be a great candidate for the Ertl procedure. On quite the measure of blind faith, my mother and I traveled to Ohio (10 + hours) for the scheduled procedure.

            I met Mr. Francis and the staff at OWW—AWESOME PEOPLE. They had a few people who had already had the Ertl procedure come in and talk with me about their experiences. They poked and prodded and videoed and evaluated me. They marked my leg where it was to be taken off and explained every detail about the procedure itself and the post-op recovery period. Only after all this did I actually meet the surgeon and get the early morning scheduled surgery the next day.

            Before the surgery, Ray and Rob (another prosthetist at OWW) came in and made sure everything was alright with me. They reassured me that I’d be taken care of and that everything would be just fine. They were in surgery with me the entire time and made sure my Ertl was just at the right place so that I would be able to wear a Pathfinder ankle/foot component.

            I’ve had a lot of surgeries in my 26 years, but this one BY FAR was the easiest. I didn’t wake up sick (thanks anesthesia guy), I had a smile on my face, and best of all I felt no pain for the first time in 9 years! It was truly a miracle. 12 hours later, I was betting the physical therapist about how long it’d take me to get up and walk to my room door. The initial cast changes were a bit hard—with new feelings/sensations and a tender stump. But, just like everyone said, it got easier with every change. By the time my 8 weeks were up, I was a cast-changing pro.

            Before I got my cast off though, freshly out of surgery, I was able to do things I haven’t done in over 4 years—shopping, chilling out by the pool, standing to make dinner, and going to the beach. Now that I’m out of the cast and into a leg, I do something new every single day. Like a bird released from a small cage, I’m out and about doing whatever I please—”stretching my wings“ if you will. I can run, jump rope, ride a bike, balance on my new leg, shop, do laundry, go to football games, work, play, and even sleep without having to take a single pill. At 6 months post-op, my brain is working again and so is my body.

            I don’t think that there is one best thing about my Ertl amputation. I’ve met TONS of awesome people (both amps and non-amps) and made lots of lifelong friends.  I continue to make great connections every single day and will soon be going back to school to be a prosthetist myself. There is a twinkle in my eye when I think about the possibility of becoming a professional amputee athlete. I feel like my options are endless! I don’t have the pain that I once did. I can actually GO and DO things again—the first time since I was 17 years old.

            Needless to say, the Ertl procedure changed my life immediately. If I would have only known about it sooner, I would have never let my life get so messed up. I owe everything to my local prosthetist, Ohio Willow Wood, the Barr Foundation, and Dr. Poka. These guys really allowed me to turn my life around. As a debt of gratitude, I’m trying to help others the way that they helped me—by giving impartial information, being honest and frank, and keeping a positive attitude.