Airborne Amputee assitive device details.
Joe Sansone
Description
Collection
Title:
Airborne Amputee assitive device details.
Creator:
Joe Sansone
Date:
11/12/2007
Text:
The following is some information submitted on behalf of Tony Korjagin
CP in regards to the device we made to assist our amputee sky-divers.
Velcro and elastic suspension straps were manufactured in the fab shop
to provide auxiliary suspension and extension assist for the ak & bk
prosthesis the patients wore during their skydive.
The goals were to allow the amputee to jump without fear of catching
their prosthetic foot upon landing and/or tripping the instructor. It
also prevented the prosthesis from falling off during transition from
freefall and parachute opening where they decelerated from 120 mph to 25
mph in 2 seconds. The suspension system worked without failure and had
100% success rate.
The belt was made of Velcro strapped around the waist with an elastic
extension belt from waist to Velcro cuff strap which attached around
prosthesis just below calf level.
This allowed patient to pull up on strap to ensure the knee was in full
extension upon landing.
More info on the event........
The Facts
Amputees skydive to motivate others
By Jason Smith
The Facts
Published November 11, 2007
ROSHARON - Before Jody Wallace lost her leg because of a car accident in
2002, she had tried skydiving. So when an employee of the Amputee and
Prosthetic Center of Houston challenged her to try it again, she didn't
hesitate.
I always wanted to do it again and wasn't going to let me losing a limb
stop me, said Wallace, a 27-year-old Pearland resident.
She also got others to join her.
About six amputees suited up Saturday at Skydive Spaceland, near
Rosharon, ready for the ride of their lives at the first Airborne
Amputee Skydiving Event hosted by the Amputee and Prosthetic Center of
Houston.
We want to show other amputees that you can do whatever you put your
mind to and that life doesn't end when you lose a limb, Wallace said.
About 30 amputees initially were scheduled to jump, but some canceled
after hearing about a death at Skydive Spaceland this week, said Joe
Sansone, the center's chief executive officer.
The body of Scott Bell, an employee of Skydive Spaceland, was found
Friday in a nearby field after his parachute apparently failed to open
during a jump Wednesday. Brazoria County authorities believe he died on
impact after the reserve parachute malfunctioned and failed to open, but
are awaiting Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office autopsy results
to determine the official cause of death.
However, fear was not even an option to the amputees who took part
because of their strong determination to motivate others.
The center, which has six locations in Houston, provides artificial
limbs to amputees, Sansone said. It also has seven amputees on staff who
serve as peer visitors for recent amputees to answer questions and help
them through their hardships, he said.
We try to get more involved, he said. It is a huge, life-changing
experience and usually it happens all of a sudden and they have
questions, so we offer them our guidance.
It was the second time World War II veteran Fred Winter, 89, has gone
skydiving since he lost his leg at age 64 in a quail-hunting accident.
Winter said he jumps to motivate soldiers who have lost limbs in battle
and those older than 60 who have lost limbs from diabetes.
I want to give back, and I can do that by jumping and showing that life
goes on, Winter said. All I have to say is 'happy landing.'
Taking the group higher than anyone could see, onlookers waited in
anticipation of their return. Then slowly in the distance, each one
reappeared as their parachutes opened and screams of joy could be heard
as they made their landings.
This is awesome - I wish I had done it sooner, said 36-year-old
Richard Lockley, a Wharton resident. I'm ready to go again.
Lockley lost his right leg after battling bone cancer for years, he
said. He wasn't scared before his jump, though, because everything he
does is extreme, Lockley said.
I work on a cattle ranch, he said. That's extreme.
As Houston resident Charlene Lindsey landed, she shouted out, This was
great - I think I could do this again.
Lindsey had to have her leg removed after developing an infection from
surgery on her broken ankle, she said.
This is making a statement and showing it's not the end for amputees,
Lindsey said.
Though she has lost her leg, she wants to remain active, she said.
Besides skydiving, she recently went bowling with her grandchildren.
Cypress resident Wendy Ledbetter, 30, heard about the event through a
friend and decided she wanted to jump also, she said.
This is small compared to all I've been through and conquered,
Ledbetter said.
Ledbetter said the jump out of the plane was awful, but flying through
the air was the greatest experience of her life.
For Wallace, Saturday's jump was even better than her first, she said.
Jason Smith is a reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0150.
Joe Sansone
C.E.O.
TMC Orthopedic
Amputee and Prosthetic Center
(713) 669-1800
www.tmcortho.com
CP in regards to the device we made to assist our amputee sky-divers.
Velcro and elastic suspension straps were manufactured in the fab shop
to provide auxiliary suspension and extension assist for the ak & bk
prosthesis the patients wore during their skydive.
The goals were to allow the amputee to jump without fear of catching
their prosthetic foot upon landing and/or tripping the instructor. It
also prevented the prosthesis from falling off during transition from
freefall and parachute opening where they decelerated from 120 mph to 25
mph in 2 seconds. The suspension system worked without failure and had
100% success rate.
The belt was made of Velcro strapped around the waist with an elastic
extension belt from waist to Velcro cuff strap which attached around
prosthesis just below calf level.
This allowed patient to pull up on strap to ensure the knee was in full
extension upon landing.
More info on the event........
The Facts
Amputees skydive to motivate others
By Jason Smith
The Facts
Published November 11, 2007
ROSHARON - Before Jody Wallace lost her leg because of a car accident in
2002, she had tried skydiving. So when an employee of the Amputee and
Prosthetic Center of Houston challenged her to try it again, she didn't
hesitate.
I always wanted to do it again and wasn't going to let me losing a limb
stop me, said Wallace, a 27-year-old Pearland resident.
She also got others to join her.
About six amputees suited up Saturday at Skydive Spaceland, near
Rosharon, ready for the ride of their lives at the first Airborne
Amputee Skydiving Event hosted by the Amputee and Prosthetic Center of
Houston.
We want to show other amputees that you can do whatever you put your
mind to and that life doesn't end when you lose a limb, Wallace said.
About 30 amputees initially were scheduled to jump, but some canceled
after hearing about a death at Skydive Spaceland this week, said Joe
Sansone, the center's chief executive officer.
The body of Scott Bell, an employee of Skydive Spaceland, was found
Friday in a nearby field after his parachute apparently failed to open
during a jump Wednesday. Brazoria County authorities believe he died on
impact after the reserve parachute malfunctioned and failed to open, but
are awaiting Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office autopsy results
to determine the official cause of death.
However, fear was not even an option to the amputees who took part
because of their strong determination to motivate others.
The center, which has six locations in Houston, provides artificial
limbs to amputees, Sansone said. It also has seven amputees on staff who
serve as peer visitors for recent amputees to answer questions and help
them through their hardships, he said.
We try to get more involved, he said. It is a huge, life-changing
experience and usually it happens all of a sudden and they have
questions, so we offer them our guidance.
It was the second time World War II veteran Fred Winter, 89, has gone
skydiving since he lost his leg at age 64 in a quail-hunting accident.
Winter said he jumps to motivate soldiers who have lost limbs in battle
and those older than 60 who have lost limbs from diabetes.
I want to give back, and I can do that by jumping and showing that life
goes on, Winter said. All I have to say is 'happy landing.'
Taking the group higher than anyone could see, onlookers waited in
anticipation of their return. Then slowly in the distance, each one
reappeared as their parachutes opened and screams of joy could be heard
as they made their landings.
This is awesome - I wish I had done it sooner, said 36-year-old
Richard Lockley, a Wharton resident. I'm ready to go again.
Lockley lost his right leg after battling bone cancer for years, he
said. He wasn't scared before his jump, though, because everything he
does is extreme, Lockley said.
I work on a cattle ranch, he said. That's extreme.
As Houston resident Charlene Lindsey landed, she shouted out, This was
great - I think I could do this again.
Lindsey had to have her leg removed after developing an infection from
surgery on her broken ankle, she said.
This is making a statement and showing it's not the end for amputees,
Lindsey said.
Though she has lost her leg, she wants to remain active, she said.
Besides skydiving, she recently went bowling with her grandchildren.
Cypress resident Wendy Ledbetter, 30, heard about the event through a
friend and decided she wanted to jump also, she said.
This is small compared to all I've been through and conquered,
Ledbetter said.
Ledbetter said the jump out of the plane was awful, but flying through
the air was the greatest experience of her life.
For Wallace, Saturday's jump was even better than her first, she said.
Jason Smith is a reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0150.
Joe Sansone
C.E.O.
TMC Orthopedic
Amputee and Prosthetic Center
(713) 669-1800
www.tmcortho.com
Citation
Joe Sansone, “Airborne Amputee assitive device details.,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/228709.
