Testimonials

Our "Patient Profiles" will give you a chance to meet some of our patients and learn more about their accomplishments. All of their stories are uplifting and motivational, and they may even inspire others to get back on their own feet again.

Richard Brown - Below Knee Amputee

Richard Brown Continues To Bounce Back

Nothing is going to keep Richard Brown down. No matter how many hurdles he needs to get over, he's just going to keep on jumping.

Brown, who is a patient at Westcoast Brace & Limb, is a below-knee amputee that has had to deal with a number of adversities over the past few years, but because of his positive thinking, he's been able to move ahead and continue living his life.

Ever since he was a year old, Brown has been living with diabetes, but it wasn't until 1997 that the disease had a huge impact on his life. In 1997 diabetes turned Brown's world upside down. Brown began feeling sick at home and checked himself into the hospital. When he woke up the next morning in the hospital, he had lost his sight. Three months later he was having a fluid sack removed from his skull and quadruple bypass surgery. His kidneys also failed. "All of this happened because of diabetes. I couldn't believe it," Brown said.

He was placed on dialysis after the kidney failure, but he was in need of a kidney and a pancreas transplant. In 1999 he had both kidney and pancreas transplant surgery, but that wasn't the end of his troubles. While recovering in the hospital from the surgery, doctors found a sore on Brown's ankle, which eventually led to the amputation of his right leg below the knee in April 1999.

"I've had to overcome many hurdles, but losing my sight was the hardest. It overtook everything else," Brown explained. "Don't get me wrong, all of these things were crushing, but losing my sight was really tough."

After going through such a series of problems, some people may feel like their life is over, but Brown dealt with it differently. "I made sure not to feel sorry for myself, and I didn't want people to feel sorry for me either. I told myself, 'I'm going to do things,' and I did," Brown said. "I really learned how to bounce back." However, he didn't deal with the loss of his sight and his amputation alone. His faith in God played a big role, and the support of his family made his comeback an even bigger success.

Brown is now 36 years old, and he has gone back to college to get a degree in Clinical Social Work. He also just completed a special computer course for the Job Access With Speech (JAWS) program, which is a special program that reads incoming e-mails aloud, at the Lighthouse for the Blind in south Tampa. Between school and computer classes, Brown has also been able to find time to do some motivational speaking. "I've given a few speeches to visually impaired groups. I try to encourage people, and let them know that there's more to life than feeling sorry for yourself." Brown hopes to continue speaking to different groups and telling his story.

"A doctor can only tell you so much, but when I meet people who have diabetes, I'm proof as to what can happen," he said. "I think it's easier to talk to someone that can relate to you. That's one of the reasons I like Westcoast Brace & Limb so much. Some of the people who work there also wear prosthetic devices, and they can relate to what I'm going through."

Brown has also been active with the amputee support group, Amputees Together, which is sponsored by Westcoast Brace & Limb. He's always willing to talk with people and share with them how he has been able to recover from his own amputation. Brown wears a prosthesis, and he lets new amputees know that it's important to have a lot of patience because things don't happen overnight. He also stressed, "It's important to pay attention to any abnormalities. If anything feels wrong, you should consult your doctor or prosthetist to have the prosthesis checked. It's important to communicate and not let things go."

Brown will continue his bounce back in the future. He plans on completing his degree and doing more motivational speaking. He's also looking forward to living on his own and living a productive life.

Katherine & Nathan Mayhew - Hip Disarticulation & Below Knee Amputees

Husband-And-Wife Team Overcomes Amputations

Hearing the words "you'll never walk again" from your doctor can be a devastating blow, and for Katherine Mayhew it kept her down for a year. But now that she is up and walking again with a new prosthetic leg, she is determined not to let anything keep her down.

Katherine and her husband Nathan have been married for 25 years, and through those 25 years they have always been there for each other. However, during the past year they have needed one another more than they ever could have imagined. In December 1999 while living in Altamonte Springs, FL, Katherine found out that she had an eight-pound tumor in her left leg. After discovering that she had osteosarcoma (a soft-tissue cancer), doctors told Katherine that they needed to remove the tumor, which also meant amputating her leg. Katherine had the tumor removed and the amputation done in January 2000. While removing the tumor, which was located between Katherine's knee and buttock, her doctor also needed to take out her artificial hip, which meant that her amputation would be very high (a hip disarticulation). Following the surgery, her Orthopaedic surgeon and therapist told her that she would never be able to walk again. In Katherine's sound leg, she has an artificial hip and knee because of severe arthritis, and according to her doctor, this ruled out the possibility of her walking with a prosthesis.

"I used a walker for a year, but I felt useless. It's terrible having to depend on someone. I found that my amputation was holding me down," Katherine said. "Before my amputation I worked, bowled and played bingo. I was very active. I'm a bit too hyper to sit still, so the amputation has been very confining." In addition to her physical setbacks, Katherine also was emotionally hurt. "I was very depressed, but my husband was my support group. He has helped me very much."

While Nathan was busy giving his wife support, he learned in June 2000 that he needed to have his own leg amputated. Nathan suffers from diabetes, and as a result, he had some very painful ulcers on his right foot. Nathan's doctor gave him two choices: 1) try to let the ulcers heal, which could take a very long time, if they healed at all, or 2) have his right leg amputated below the knee. "I needed a day to think about my decision," Nathan said. "I chose to have the amputation because I didn't want to deal with the pain anymore." While it was extremely painful following the amputation, Nathan doesn't have the pain anymore. "It turned out to be the best decision," he added. Nathan started wearing a temporary prosthesis as soon as he healed from the surgery.

In September 2000 the Mayhews moved to Tampa, and Nathan began having some soreness and brake-down on his residual limb. He came to Westcoast Brace & Limb for some help. Prosthetist Jason Kahle, CPO, met with him and immediately the pain and brake-down went away. "Jason made my new prosthesis and he did a great job. I haven't had any problems since I started seeing him," Nathan said. "The people here (at Westcoast) will bend over backwards to make it work right."

When Nathan originally met with Jason in November 2000, Katherine was there as well. Jason had the opportunity to speak with Katherine, and he told her that he could make her a prosthesis and that she would be able to walk again.

Jason explained that all other things being equal, the hip disarticulation level is a very difficult level to fit. "It involves three joints that need to be replaced prosthetically," he said. "I've had the opportunity to work with many high level amputees (hip disarticulations and high above knee), and having that experience has enabled me to help patients, like Mrs. Mayhew, walk again."

After speaking with Jason, Katherine went home and thought about what he had told her. "Jason said that he could work with me, but I didn't believe him at first. It took a month for me to decide what to do," Katherine said. "We live in an apartment so getting around in a wheelchair wasn't a good option. The best option was to be able to walk again. When I realized that I wanted to walk again, I made an appointment with Jason."

"Despite any amputees level of amputation, determination is always the most important factor. Mrs. Mayhew was very determined to walk again," Jason explained.

"She was willing to get past the pain and discomfort and focus on her goal of learning how to walk. She has had a great attitude about overcoming adversity." Katherine wore a temporary prosthesis for two weeks, but has now moved on to her permanent prosthesis. "I started using forearm crutches to get around with the new leg, but now I'm starting to get around on my own. I'm still getting use to it, but I'm walking again," Katherine said. "I want to go back and show the doctor who told me that I would never walk again."

With her new prosthesis, Katherine has started a new job calling Bingo at the Seminole Indian Reservation. She says that she feels useful again. "I still get depressed sometimes, but I remember that there is always someone that is worst off than me. No one is going to keep me down ever again." Nathan added that it's all a learning process. "Everything is new, but you can't get down. You have to stay healthy and maintain a positive attitude."

Michael Marujo - Above Knee Amputee

Creative Canes By Michael Marujo

Ever since he was a young child, Michael Marujo has always kept himself busy by working on various jobs and projects with his hands. He started out using his hands to play with chemistry sets as a child and then he moved on to working various jobs in factories. Today, he uses his hands to create unique canes as a hobby.

Marujo, who has been a Westcoast Brace & Limb patient since 1994, is 43 years old and an above-knee amputee. He lost his leg in 1978 in an automobile accident, but he began wearing a prosthesis as soon as he had healed from the accident. The car accident caused some back problems for Marujo, and he also needed to learn how to walk again with a prosthesis, but the accident didn't affect his ability to work with his hands.

The most recent project that Marujo has embarked on is creating walking canes from wood and trinkets that he finds. He's been working for a year on his hobby, which began when he found a really interesting piece of wood. "I found this great piece of wood, so I brought it home with me. It looked like it could be used as a walking cane, but the top of it had broken off," Marujo explains. He was able to put the top of the wood back on with a screw, but then the screw looked out of place, so he decided to hide it with a decorative cover. The decorative cover was only the beginning. Marujo then took off the wood's bark and sanded it down. His next step was to use markers to color the wood. He then applied a coating that blended the colors and gave the cane a shiny look. As he found colorful and unique trinkets, he would add them to the cane as well.

This first piece of wood that Marujo found now serves as the cane he likes to use (see photo), but because he enjoyed working on his own cane so much, he decided to continue making more as he found good pieces of wood. "It has become a great hobby. I'll start when I find a good piece of wood, and then whatever comes to mind, I just start decorating it. I try to color coordinate and keep adding pieces as I find them."

"Creating things with my hands is a gift that I've had all of my life. Even as a kid I would take things apart around the house, which never made my mother too happy." Currently, Marujo is making canes as a hobby, but one day he would like to sell them if people are interested in buying them. He may start selling the canes at flea markets and Renaissance fairs to see what happens, but no matter what, he will still be happy being able to be creative using his hands.

Krystle - Above Knee Amputee

Nothing Can Stop Her

At age 17 there isn't much that Krystle can't do as an above-knee amputee. She is able to participate in basically any sport or activity imaginable, including cheerleading, track, tennis, baseball and ROTC. Recently she has added modeling to her busy schedule, which also includes lots of studying and college preparation.

Krystle became and amputee after being born with a birth defect. While it wasn't easy growing up, Krystle has never let her amputation or anything else hold her back.

"It was tough growing up," says Krystle. "My first prosthesis stuck straight out and couldn't bend, so kids would call me names like 'robot leg.' I also would have to sit in the front row at a movie theatre with this leg." Throughout the years her prosthetic legs improved with technology, but it wasn't until she came to Westcoast Brace & Limb that she became completely satisfied with the cosmetic appearance of her leg.

"I like to wear dresses and I cheer in a short skirt, so the appearance of my prosthesis was a big concern," says Krystle. " I was very impressed with how much attention was paid to both function and cosmetics, and how closely Westcoast was able to match a prosthesis to a person's good leg.

When her uncle asked her is she wanted a car or a new leg, she decided to start her junior year of high school with a new leg from Westcoast. "I definitely made the right choice," she says. "I love my new leg."

Warren Sumners - Above Elbow Amputee

The Key To Amputee's Rehab Is Humor & Laughter

Warren Sumners' world was turned upside down in May 2000, but he didn't let it stay that way for long.

A car accident left Warren as an above-elbow (AE) amputee. Actually, Warren likes to refer to himself as an AK (above-knee) amputee. “Well, it is above the knee,” he explains with a chuckle.

Warren is a great inspiration to other amputees and other people in general. His humor and positive mental attitude has been the key to overcoming a lot. He's not only an amputee, but he's had cancer twice and open-heart surgery recently. His wife also had cancer and open-heart surgery.

“The more humor you have the less pain you have. Laughter definitely helps decrease the pain and discomfort,” Warren says. “My arm isn't going to grow back and there is no silver bullet that will fix everything. Life doesn't work that way. It has to be up to me to get through this.”

Warren stresses that people will accept you on how you see yourself so it's important to have a good mental attitude toward yourself. “People who are not disabled don't know what it is like so it's up to us to put them at ease. I do that by using humor.”

Support also is the key to dealing with an amputation. “We all need support. My wife Rose and my friends were very supportive,” Warren says. “ I also belong to a support group and several other organizations that help. No one is that strong to do it alone. By joining an amputee support group you'll realize you're not alone. You're not the only one who gets frustrated or who has phantom pain.”

In addition to finding support through a group, Warren says amputees also will learn that not all prosthetic firms are equal and that if they're having problems with their prosthetic devices there are other options. Amputees need to know that a team approach to prosthetics is critical and that the amputee is in charge. Warren adds, “You're the one wearing (the prosthetic). If it doesn't feel right do something about it. You need to take the initiative. Someone isn't going to do it for you.”

Warren didn't learn all of this overnight. He started small by celebrating everyday victories such as washing the dishes or polishing his shoes. “I look at each day as a challenge and as an opportunity.”

After his accident, Warren went back to work as a consultant for the construction of new performing arts centers. “No one seemed to notice my amputation. I travel internationally and it didn't make a difference to anyone else,” he explains. “You have to be very careful about saying ‘I can't.' It will take you longer, but you will get it done.”

Recently, Warren retired and moved to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He plans to spread his message there and will remain active with an online support group.

“It's important to believe in your own spirit, family, friends and support group. It's a two-way street. Don't expect people to take care of you and don't feel sorry for yourself. Get back into your old routines. If you want to do it, you can do it!”

James Murrary - Leg Amputee

"My Leg is My Life"

For the two years following an automobile accident that left him an amputee, James had so many problems with his artificial leg he wasn't able to work.

Then his case manager referred him to Westcoast Brace & Limb.

That was in 1987, and today the Zephyrhills roofer says, you couldn't pay me to go anywhere else.

“My leg is my life,” says James. “The Westcoast Brace & Limb staff gained my confidence and explained all of my options.”

The team worked with him to create a new exoskeletal leg. “I got exactly what I wanted.” With his new leg James was able to return to work and actually climb ladders to do some of the construction himself. He also was able to open his own roof consulting business.

Over the years he has developed a trusting relationship with his prosthetist. “He does a wonderful job,” he says. “I wouldn't trade him for anyone else.”