Prosthetic hip, leg, ankle, give cancer survivor another chance to walk.
MARQUETTE -- Even though he lost his leg to bone cancer last May, Karl Wideman hasn't lost his step. His therapists at U.P. Rehab Services in Marquette and the prosthetic team from Wright and Filippis are amazed by his progress. He's relearned how to balance himself while walking and sitting.
It's something most amputees need six months to a year to accomplish. Karl did it in three months.
"He's accomplished things that we didn't say he couldn't do, but we weren't sure if he'd be able to accomplish," said Wright and Filippis prosthetist, Lynn Vanwelsenaers. "And he's just kind of like whizzed through it. We're tickled he can get out there and do more than we thought he could."
Therapists credit a new product, the "Helix Hip Joint System," a prosthetic hip that's only been on the market for a year. It allows better mobility and has a greater range for moving in all directions.
His greatest challenge so far...climbing stairs. If he doesn't place his foot in the right place, his other knee will lock and he'll catapult forward.
"I've fallen maybe three or four times," said Wideman. "And I fell cross country skiing. But less and less, that's a concern for me. I just don't feel like that's likely to happen at this point. And if it does, so I fall. You get back up and you keep going."
Besides mastering the stairs and sitting down, Karl also has his sights set on other goals. He went cross country skiing last weekend, and this summer he plans to golf.
"We're working on that golf swing," said U.P. Rehab Services Physical Therapist, Terry Tripp, "working on the weight transition and balance, basically getting him back to the level of life he wants to do."
And he even hopes to run again.
"That was the biggest fear was that losing a leg was going to eliminate all those opportunities," Wideman said. "But that hasn't been the case."
While the Helix Hip Joint System is helping with mobility, his determination and grit have gotten him back into walking shoes.
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