Steve Lamp walks 2 miles after 2 days with his first prosthesis
Steve Lamp is a super active guy, who loves to run and ran in the Parkersburg News & Sentinel’s 2014 Half Marathon for the first time. He was in a motorcycle accident earlier this year and lost his left leg below the knee. That didn’t slow him down much. He stayed active, and even participated in races with his wheelchair.
Steve wasn’t cleared by his doctor until Friday, August 7 to get a prosthetic leg. His residual limb was finally healed and he was ready to be fit, but there was only one week before the half-marathon. Steve’s goal was to walk in the Parkersburg News & Sentinel’s Two Mile Race with his new leg. His family said to friends this past weekend, “Steve is under the illusion that he will be walking in the 2 Mile race.” Steve said with confidence – “I will be walking in that race”.
Steve was measured for his first artificial limb on Monday, August 10th at Miller Prosthetics & Orthotics. He tried out the leg on Wednesday, and it was adjusted and a temporary setup was completed on Thursday. His initial steps on his brand new leg were amazing! At the office, Steve walked inside and outside, up and down steps and down a ramp. Mark Miller, of Miller Prosthetics & Orthotics, watched in amazement as he walked aggressively and with confidence. Mark said that he would walk with Steve in the 2 mile, and make any adjustments along the way if needed.
At the race, Steve was supported by 14 family members who also walked with him including his wife Martha, sister-in–laws, and a niece who ran the Half. Steve was amazing! He walked at a great pace, and only stopped once to make a quick adjustment. Mark Miller said that in his 27 years of experience in Prosthetics, he has never seen anyone walk this well this quickly. Walking two miles after only two days with his first prosthesis for the first time was incredible! This is very unusual to actually encourage and support a new amputee to do something of that magnitude that quickly, but it was a goal that Steve wanted and it was easy to see that it meant a lot to him to accomplish that goal.
When Steve crossed that finish line with pride, tears secretly flowed from his surrounding family and friends.
What an inspiration Steve is – he is driven by a indescribable passion, he loves life and no one can stop him to living it to the fullest. He is a perfect example of triumph of the human spirit.
Before Steve was fit with his first prosthesis, he used the iWALK, hands free crutch. The iWALK kept the muscles in his residual limb in tone, and kept him walking.
Mark Miller, Licensed/Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist, commented on his experience with Steve:
“In my 27 years experience I have never seen a transtibial amputee do so well so quickly with their first prosthesis. His fitting was delayed for 3 or 4 months while healing. During that time, he used the iWALK which helped maintain strength in his upper leg, as well as his residual limb and core. The transition into the prosthesis was seamless. At his first fitting, he was going up and down ramps and curbs like he had the prostheses for a month. After two days, he walked in a community two-mile event from start to finish. He walked continuously at a normal pace with only one stop to add an additional 1-ply sock, which he did on his own. The following week, he walked in a 5K. On the third week, he rode his bike 3 miles.”
Due to the success of Steve, we now stock the iWalk at Miller Prosthetics & Orthotics in Parkersburg, WV and Belpre, Ohio. Along with below knee amputees, the iWALK is helpful for broken ankles or other foot injuries. If you can bend your knee at a 90 degree angle, you would be able to use the iWALK.
