Congenital Amputee Kyle Maynard to Fight MMA Match--Updated with poll

Promoted to the front page from the FanPosts by Luke Thomas. Two years or so ago this issue of Maynard fighting MMA caused heated debate within the community about whether a) Maynard had a right to compete and b) right or not, whether it was safe for him or fair for his opposition. I'd be curious to see where sentiments are today.

Courtesy of MMAfighting via Deadspin comes the tale of an armless, legless phenom whose about to enter the cage:

The amateur fight will happen at "Auburn Fight Night" at the Auburn Covered Center.

The 22-year-old Maynard in 2004 won the ESPN ESPY award Best Athlete With A Disability.

Maynard was previously denied a license to fight MMA by the Georgia Athletic & Entertainment Commission.

YouTube of him wrestling from Larry King Live after the jump. He cites Randy Couture as an inspiration:

Amputee wants one last surf before he goes

MORNING READ: Mohammad Malek is heading home for now, but he's taking a few waves first.
By LAYLAN CONNELLY
The Orange County Register
Comments 0| Recommend 2

Mohammad Malek sat in a bush, bleeding, waiting for help.

While riding his bike home from his job at a bakery, Malek, then 16, had stopped to wander off the road to gather twigs so his family could make a fire.

But there'd been a sudden explosion, and his lower right leg had been torn from his body.

"I was looking for someone to come help me for 15 minutes," he recalls. "Nobody come."

So, unsure if help would arrive, he tried to hop his way to safety.

But he hit another landmine. And his lower left leg was blown off too.

Soon, he was spotted by a group of Afghan soldiers. Scared that the area was littered with landmines, they threw him a branch.

Shrapnel laced his hands. His only option was to bite down and hold on with his teeth.

Malek, sitting recently on the sand in Seal Beach, recalls his thoughts as the soldiers dragged his legless body out of the minefield:

"No more life. No more family. No more friends.

"I was scared."



COMING TO AMERICA

In 2005, the year he was hurt, Malek couldn't get the treatment he needed in his home country, Afghanistan.

So Loma Linda University – which has a sister hospital in Kabul – offered him help at their hospital.

Malek says the offer made him feel lucky – and scared.

"You're Muslim," his friends told him. "They're Christian."

"I heard only bad. 'Oh, maybe they kill me'," he remembers thinking as he flew into LAX.

But what he found was something different from he expected.

He met friends, lots of them. He got a girlfriend. He learned how to swim, and got so good at it that he entered competitions. He learned to love basketball and volleyball. He regularly eats pizza and spaghetti, which he says he can't get at home.

And he discovered surfing.

A NATURAL SURFER

Malek's first glimpse of surfing came last year, during a beach outing in Los Angeles. He was on a pier, still in a wheelchair, and he pushed himself close to the rail to get a better look as the surfers below paddled into waves.

Timothy Hickman, a director at the hospital, noted Malek's interest. Hickman also remembered watching a television news feature in which Michael Pless, owner of M & M Surfing School in Seal Beach, taught people with disabilities how to surf.

So, last April, a surf lesson was arranged for Malek.

That day, everyone on the sand was nervous — even Pless — who had never taught a double amputee how to surf. Communication wasn't easy.

Still, if there's such a thing as a natural surfer, Malek was it. He learned how to paddle and how to read the ocean. He learned to get his board on the face of the wave and, even without legs, when to get up.

He shocked spectators that day by riding wave after wave – on his head.

ANOTHER WAVE

That was nearly a year ago. Now, Malek's treatment in the U.S. is finished. On Wednesday, March 25, he's slated to head home.

He had a final request before leaving America -- to surf.

And that's why Malek is back at Seal Beach; watching, anticipating.

"Wow," he says, pointing at the incoming waves. "Look at that."

His friend Paul Uyeda, 33, has come along to snap photos that Malek can take home. He isn't surprised that Malek wants another wave.

"He has no fear with any kind of sport."

Malek has picked up surfer lingo. He says things like "hey dude" and "awesome" and "chillax." And, when Malek and Uyeda pose for pictures, they flash a shaka "hang ten" sign. Malek even flexes his sturdy muscles.

A lot has changed since Malek's first surf session.

He has prosthetic legs, which he uses to walk on the sand. He also speaks English as if he's been here for years, so he no longer needs an interpreter. And he refuses the life jacket he used a year ago, confident he's a strong enough swimmer to take on crashing waves.

But one thing hasn't changed – Malek is still a natural.

As he paddles out, Malek plows head on into the waves, so they don't knock him over or back. Pless tries to follow behind.

Then, within seconds of getting in the surf zone, Malek is paddling into his first wave. It knocks him down, and he tumbles in the whitewash. But, without hesitation, he starts to paddle back out.

It doesn't take long before he's breaking out his signature move – the headstand – with nearby surfers cheering. He throws his arms up in victory for cameras snapping his photo.

Uyeda grabs his surfboard to join in. Soon, the competitive Malek comes out.

"Let's go, let's go," Malek yells as he paddles alongside Uyeda, beating his friend in a quick game of who-can-paddle-faster.

For more than two hours, Malek takes wave after wave.

Micheal Pless Jr. – helping a group of new surfing students nearby – calls out to Malek after he catches a wave.

"How did you like it?

"It was good, dude," he responds as he passes, his eyes focused on the horizon as he searches for more waves.

DR. MALEK?

Back home, in Kabul – where his parents, five brothers and three sisters live – the only water they get is during heavy rains, when enough falls to form a flat lake, Malek says.

While he's excited to see friends and family, there's a lot he'll miss here – like his girlfriend.

She cried when he announced he was going home. "I told her, 'It's OK, we'll talk on Skype.' I love her."

Educational opportunities in Afghanistan are limited. But Malek plans to finish two years of high school, then return to the United States for college. Perhaps, he says, he'll become a doctor and help people like himself.

"I enjoy every second with United States. I like to stay here. I will come back soon."

Another perk of coming back: "I can surf a lot."

And he has something to brag about to his friends at home.

"I'm much better. Last year, I was very bad," he says of his surfing, as he takes a quick break on the sand. "I like surfing. I like to go back and surf again."

And with that, he paddles back into the surf, to catch a few more waves.

Climb offers message of hope for injured soldiers

12:00pm Saturday 21st March 2009

By Paul Ferguson »

AN SAS amputee is hoping to climb Africa’s highest peak in aid of Britain’s wounded soldiers.

Stuart Trow wants to raise £10,000 for Help for Heroes by conquering Kilimanjaro in October.

The former soldier was Brit-ain’s first casualty in Afghan-istan and has worn a prosthetic limb since being shot in 2001.

But disability and the Taleban haven’t ruined his life – and he’s now ready to scale new heights to help his fellow injured soldiers.

Mr Trow, aged 32, spent three years in Hereford and Creden-hill before flying to Afghanistan shortly after September 11.

His mission ended a few weeks later when his leg was struck by three bullets. He spent four weeks in hospital after his leg was amputated from the knee down, while his rehabilitation went on for months.

The married father-of-two struggled with depression and his new leg, but eventually beat the blues and set his sights on Africa. He hopes the walk will inspire other wounded soldiers and raise plenty of money for Help for Heroes.

“It took me a long time to get over the mental and physical side of things, but afterwards I felt really glad to be alive,” he said. “I see some soldiers coming back in a sad state, and this trip is to give something back to those guys.

“I’ve been through what they’re going through and came through the other side, and it’s really not the end.”

Mr Trow is training on the south Shropshire hills and plans to climb Snowdon and Ben Nevis ahead of his African adventure.

Climbing 6,000 metres in six days could prove a struggle with a prosthetic limb, but the former soldier knows that who dares, wins.

“I’m slowly increasing the training depending on how I am with my leg, but it’s not so much the climbing, it’s dealing with the amputation,” he said. “It will be a tough physical challenge but it’s the least I can do to help our armed forces.”

For more information or to sponsor Stuart, visit www.just giving.com/heroclimb

Adam Bender, Age 9, Wrestles on 1 Leg

Last year we told you about Adam Bender, an 8-year-old who had his leg amputated at the pelvis when he was a year old, but managed just fine when playing baseball on one leg. Today we have word that Adam has taken up another sport.

The video above shows Adam, who lives in Lexington, Kentucky, wrestling in a state tournament, where he made it all the way to the finals. When he's grappling on the ground, Adam doesn't seem particularly disabled, and he's the latest of several young athletes to show that wrestling is a sport in which amputees often find success.

Adam, who has been profiled on ESPN, also plays football and soccer.

Video via NBCWashington.com.
%SITE-postMetaLinks%

They're trained for war . . . and Wall Street

John Jones, who lost both legs in Iraq, is enrolled in a six-month brokerage course at Drexel Hamilton in Philadelphia. “The Marine Corps is just a big business with toys. I operated and managed 65 people,” he said. “If you can do that, there’s nothing you can’t do in a corporation.”

A Philadelphia firm prepares wounded veterans to become securities brokers. After all, anyone who's excelled in combat can surely brave the high-pressure world of finance -- even in these tough times.
By David Zucchino
March 14, 2009
Reporting from Philadelphia -- If you didn't know John Jones, you'd assume he was just another overworked securities trader, hustling across the sidewalk to wolf down a quick lunch in this city's financial district.

But when Jones sits down, his recent past is on full display. Titanium shins poke out from the cuffs of his dress slacks, revealing prosthetic legs. Jones was a Marine staff sergeant in Iraq in 2005 when a land mine blew off both legs below the knees.

Now he spends his days hunched over a desk, taking a crash course to become a licensed securities broker. Jones doesn't have a college education or a finance background, but he does have a wealth of experience as a leader and decision-maker in highly stressful situations.

At one point, his post-combat future came down to competing for a role as a wounded veteran on the soap opera "All My Children" -- he lost the final audition to a friend -- or braving the current Wall Street image of greed and recklessness to become a broker.

"It all boils down to morals: Do the right thing, keep your integrity intact," Jones said of his intention to join an industry blamed by many Americans for helping trigger the nation's economic collapse.


Jones and a fellow soldier, Army Master Sgt. George Holmes, are the first two students in a six-month course designed to train seriously injured veterans for finance industry jobs. The Philadelphia brokerage firm that runs the program was founded by a wounded Vietnam veteran who believes that anyone who excels in combat can flourish in the high-pressure world of Wall Street.

The timing may not seem opportune: The financial sector is in meltdown, the stock market is volatile, layoffs are rampant, and the public backlash against Wall Street is fierce and unsparing.

So why bring wounded veterans into this cauldron?

"These are the guys who sacrificed to keep us free. If you don't trust them, you don't trust anybody," said Lawrence Doll, the disabled Vietnam veteran who started the Drexel Hamilton brokerage.

The firm's program prepares wounded veterans for the two grueling exams required to become licensed securities brokers. If the veterans pass, they are guaranteed a job -- either with Doll's firm or another brokerage company -- buying and trading securities. The program pays for living, travel and instruction expenses, at a cost of roughly $19,000 per veteran.

Jones and Holmes, who beat out 15 others for the first two slots, are immersed daily in the ways of Wall Street. Most classes are held at Drexel Hamilton's 14th-floor office in a Philadelphia skyscraper, with weeklong field trips to the New York Stock Exchange, Goldman Sachs, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange and other places.

The two were honored Sunday at a securities conference at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, where they were seated at dinner with T. Boone Pickens, the Texas billionaire financier. Pickens offered both men jobs.

Drexel Hamilton is dominated by brokers who serve in the Pennsylvania National Guard. They use terms like "boots on the ground" to describe field trips and "basic training" to describe the course.

"Guys with MBAs from the Ivy League can only wish they had the kind of in-depth training these two guys are getting," said Harry J. Gobora III, a retired National Guardsman and the firm's chief operating officer.

Holmes, 37, has an MBA and worked as a credit analyst for a bank and a credit-rating agency while also serving in the National Guard. He volunteered for tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was badly wounded in a rocket attack in 2008.

Two soldiers next to him were killed, he said. His femoral artery gushed blood "like a fountain" before he clamped down on it with his hand. His arm bones were shattered, his eardrums perforated, his leg ripped open and his neck torn by shrapnel. Scars dot his neck.

After at least 10 surgeries on his right arm, Holmes is still learning to grasp items. He shakes hands and types with his left hand. He sometimes has to strain to hear phone conversations and instructor's comments. He has occasional memory lapses that he suspects were caused by the rocket blast.

When he first heard about the training program, Holmes "was in the hospital bed thinking, well, I'm wounded. I don't have a job," he said. "If I go back to banking, read the headlines: Thousands of people in banking looking for jobs. So I was in a tough spot."

After seven years away from finance, Holmes slowly is mastering the intricacies of Wall Street trading. Despite the current unsavory reputation of bankers and traders, Holmes said, he wants to apply the professionalism and leadership he learned in the Army to his new field.

"In the military, there's a code you live by, and that can translate to the civilian world," he said.

click here for continued story

Wishes come true for Bi-Lateral above knee amputee who receives donations for new limbs!

Mrs. Felipa Ruiz, current resident of nine years and single mother of two (4 and 8 year old) kids and raising her nephew, whose been in a wheel chair since birth. Mrs. Ruiz has struggled to support her family and maintain her most recent job due to her current disability. Mrs. Ruiz is a bi-lateral Knee disarticulate amputee, due to a tragic train accident in Veracruz – Mexico at the age of two, Mrs. Ruiz has spent a lifetime not letting her disability to stop her from living a normal life of raising a family. Currently, her prosthetics are eleven years old and consistently break due to constant use from normal wear and tear. Mrs. Ruiz was forced to quit her job as a housekeeper. In tears, Mrs. Ruiz says “I had no choice but to live with my sister. I have resorted to selling poetry books to the Hispanic community in local nearby parks to make a small living to support my family.”




Here are photos of before and after prosthetics.



To make matters more difficult, Mrs. Ruiz has been a victim of domestic violence for several years and is the sole provider of her family. Until now, Mrs. Ruiz felt there was no hope of getting new prosthetics due to not being able to afford health insurance for her & her family. “Due to the economy and being a single mother of three, it’s difficult raising a family on my own and to also make a living with a worn out legs! I am a hard worker and I will do whatever it takes to support and raise my family,” says Mrs. Ruiz.

Mrs. Ruiz along with her advocate Esperanza Cervantes-Sanchez, from Family Ties of Nevada, has sought the support of Prosthetic Center of Excellence (PCE) on how we can help Mrs. Ruiz receive some new prosthetics that will allow her to go back to work and support her family.

Kevin Bidwell, Certified Prosthetist, expert fitter of prosthetics says, “When Felipa Ruiz came to see me about her situation, I was amazed about the determination she exuded. I knew that there had to be something we could do to support her needs. We were able to assemble donated parts, two new prosthetics legs for Mrs. Ruiz and help her to resume getting back to as normal life as possible. We at Prosthetic Center of Excellence want to support our community as much as possible and if people are willing to do whatever it takes to be a contribution to society, then we get to do whatever it takes to those who are seeking that kind of support!” PCE shares that this type of product and service runs about $45,000 for two above knee prosthetics.



Prosthetic Center of Excellence
A Nevada corporation that has been in practice since 1999, PCE has over 35 years experience in prosthetic and orthotics. They currently hold the ABC accreditation required by Medicare. PCE is one of a few O&P companies that has hospital contracts and provides educational seminars for both Healthcare professionals and the community. www.prostheticcenterofexcellence.com.

Please contact Bernabe Duran at 702-384-1410 for more information to schedule an interview and evaluation.

Following Her Dreams

By JOYCE McKENZIE
jmckenzie@tampatrib.com
Published: March 11, 2009

EAST TAMPA - The life of Sarah Reinertsen has been a series of trials and triumphs. Fortunately for her, the feats far override the failures.

The New York City native likes to tell people she was born "different" 33 years ago.

When just a toddler she was diagnosed with a left leg deformity called proximal femoral focal deficiency, a condition in which her left leg was markedly shorter than her right leg. She wore a stiff leg brace until age 7, when her parents opted for surgery to amputate her leg.

From that point on she strived to be just like her friends. She was a Brownie, an outstanding student and tried hard to compete in sports alongside her classmates.

Regardless, she remembers always being the last person to be picked for a team and still finds it hard to erase the memory of being told by her soccer coach to kick a ball against a wall alone while her peers played the game.

Reinertsen's self-esteem soared and her future was formed, however, at age 11 when she was introduced to track and field sports specifically designed for those who are physically challenged. For the first time in her life she learned how it felt to experience the joy of victory.

At 13 she broke the 100-meter world record for female above-the-knee amputees.

"That was really neat because after my amputation my doctors told me I'd never run again," said Reinertsen, as she spoke recently at the All People's Life Center to a group of disabled athletes who are members of BlazeSports Tampa Bay.

Reinertsen, who serves as a national spokeswoman for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, was invited by the Florida chapter of the nonprofit organization that raises money to help people with physical disabilities pursue active lifestyles through fitness and competitive sports.

"I learned from a very young age that for me to keep up I've always had to be tougher than the rest," Reinertsen told the mainly female audience bent on her every word and movement as she strolled back and forth across the gym floor.

Reinertsen shared with them the fact that as a young teenager she began to seriously test her talent and tenacity.

She went on to take part in other competitions that landed her a spot as the youngest member of the 1992 U.S. Paralympics team at age 17 and the chance to compete against other world-class disabled athletes in Barcelona, Spain.

Butsomething unexpected occurred.

"Just as I left the starting line at the start of the race I tripped. I was devastated," Reinertsen said. "I quit. I thought what was the point of trying?"

So, she enrolled at George Washington University and it wasn't long before she was aware of how tight her clothes had become and how sluggish she felt.

During that time she happened to watch a TV program about the Ironman Triathlon World Championship race - a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run.

"I wanted to do that," she said. "But I didn't know how to ride a bike, I couldn't swim and I could only run two laps around the track."

She began running in marathons and even completed a New York City Marathon. She took out a membership at a local pool and purchased swimming gear. But it was six months before she went in the water due to her embarrassment of having to remove the prosthetic leg in the presence of others.

Reinertsen purchased a used mountain bike but, too afraid to ride it in the New York City traffic, enlisted the advice of a bike store clerk for riding lessons. When that idea failed she decided to buy a stationary cycle she could train on at home.

For her graduate studies she moved to Southern California where she bought her first "real" bike and in 2003 she participated in her first triathlon.

"I was ecstatic," Reinertsen said. "When I crossed that finish line I finally became a triathlete."

Another First

Then, in 2004, she chartered into territory where no woman amputee had been before - the Ironman championship in Kona, Hawaii. However, she was disqualified when she failed to meet the bike cut-off time by 15 minutes.

She returned the following year and completed the race in a little more than 15 hours.

"Whatever it is that your want to do, hold onto your dreams and with dedication and perseverance you will get there," she told the audience.

Reinertsen was also the first female amputee to compete on the CBS show "The Amazing Race" in 2006.

"I still want to ride a bike across the U.S. That's a goal of mine before I die," said Reinertsen, who was also in town to compete in the Gasparilla Marathon.

Vicki Hayes, the mother of BlazeSports athlete Karlee Hayes, 17, who has cerebral palsy, was impressed with Reinertsen's achievements at such a young age.

"It goes to show you how strong the human spirit can be," she said. "It shows kids that have a disability they can do whatever they set out to do."

Wheelchair-bound Karlee also liked the presentation.

"It's different from anything I ever heard," said the Gaither High 10th-grader.

Kelly Parker of Lakeland, the mother of 8-year-old leg amputee Casey, thought Reinertsen's message contained a lot of good food for thought.

"It was emotional, inspiring and motivational," Parker said. "It also showed me I need to back off a little."

"We're learning more and more every day and now we've seen her Reinertsen," said Casey's dad, Michael. "It gives us hope for Casey."

Reinertsen's autobiography, "In a Single Bound," will be out in September.

Reporter Joyce McKenzie can be reached at (813) 865-4849.

Seven-year-old double amputee becomes future US Paralympic hope thanks to new 'Blade Runner' prosthetic legs

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:25 PM on 10th March 2009
Comments (0) Add to My Stories Seven-year-old Cody McCasland has become one of the the US's brightest Paralympic hopes after having artificial sprinting legs fitted like 'Blade Runner' athlete Oscar Pistorius.
Sports fan Cody, who dreams of winning a gold medal in the games, was born without any tibia or knee bones, and had both lower legs amputated as a toddler.

Despite his disability he is already proving himself an amazing athlete with a busy schedule of running, swimming, football, golf, karate and ice hockey as well as being a boy scout, playing the piano, hand-cycling, rock climbing, kayaking, learning to jet-ski and even fly a plane.



Cody McCasland is already racing against able-bodied children, and hopes to compete in the Paralympics when he is older

Mother Tina McCasland, 36, said: 'We've always said whatever Cody wants to do, we will do our best to let him have that opportunity. He won't let his disability hold him back.'

Mrs McCasland and husband Mike, 37, an internet manager, from Colleyville, Texas, hope to bring Cody to London in 2012 so he can watch the Paralympics for himself, in the hope he will run and swim for his country at future games.
The determined seven-year-old, who is already gaining good times for his age range, said: 'I'd love to compete in three year's time at swimming.

'I definitely will take part one day and win a gold medal.'
Cody, who suffers from a rare condition called Sacral Agenesis, was born six weeks prematurely, and doctors had warned his parents that he might not live.

Children with the condition usually suffer from a number of difficulties including kidney problems and Cody had to undergo the first of his 15 operations at just three days old.
Over the next two years he faced operations for a dislocated hip, stomach, gall bladder and intestinal problems, a hernia, as well as treatment for breathing difficulties and asthma.

Mr and Mrs McCasland, who also have a daughter Callie, two, were warned by a specialist in Texas that Cody might need both lower legs amputated to give him the chance of walking with prosthetic legs.
Social worker Mrs McCasland said: 'He said the right leg was missing a tibia and knee cap.
'The fibula was not enough to support Cody's leg and without a knee, he could not bend it.
'His legs just curved round to the side when he was sitting and it just kind of got in his way.



'His left leg, looked more normal, but the knee did not bend. We were told there may be a chance of surgery to fix that leg but there was no guarantee of success.'
The couple decided to take Cody to see another specialist in Philadelphia who discovered that there were no tibia or knee bones in either of his legs, leading to a double amputation at just 15 months old.

When he was fitted for his first prosthetic legs two months later, he shocked his parents and doctors by managing to stand and walk on them the same day.

'Hardly anyone takes to prosthetics so well,' said Mrs McCasland. 'It was amazing - it was as if Cody had just been waiting for the chance to have new legs so he could walk. He was so pleased with himself.'
Over the next few months, his family gradually increased the amount of time Cody wore his legs so by the time he went to kindergarten he could wear them all day.

Now the seven-year-old has several pairs of legs, generously provided by the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, a specialist limb centre, including ones called stubbies for sitting and playing, walking legs and blades for running.

'They are very expensive and Cody seems to outgrow them all the time,' said Mrs McCasland.

'We're very lucky that we have this specialist centre which provides the running legs, as health insurance doesn't do that. The legs are not available to people in many areas.'
Cody added: 'In my walking legs I can take big steps. In my running legs I can run very fast and jump on one leg.
'In my stubbies I like to play and climb in the playground.'
Thanks to his prosthetics, Cody takes part in activities with other children in his class and already beats some of them at running.
He is a member of his school swimming team, competing against able-bodied youngsters despite using just his arms.

Mr McCasland said: 'With the help of Challenged Athletes Foundation Cody will be able to travel to other areas and compete against others like himself at a higher level.
'Each year we take him to the Endeavour Games which is an international competition for children and adults with disabilities. He won gold medals in the 60m and 100m sprints this year and gained a fast enough time to enable him to compete in the National Junior Youth Disability Championships.'

Cody currently races against youngsters with just one artificial leg, but double amputees hope there will be a reclassification, allowing them to have their own category in the sport.
He ran 60m last year in 20.03 seconds, and 100m at 33.41 seconds, when he was just six years old. This means he was only five or six seconds behind single amputee record-holders aged nine.
Cody's times at freestyle swimming and back stroke are already impressive at around 30 seconds and 43.63 seconds. He has knocked 30 seconds off his freestyle time since starting swimming last June and is now only a short way behind the nine-year-old record holder.
He has already met his sporting hero, triathlete Rudy Garcia-Tolson, a double amputee who has competed in two Paralympics by the age of just 20.
The courageous youngster, who wants to become a doctor when he is older, said: 'I'm a non-stop runner and no-one can keep up with me.
'I'd also love to swim in a race against Michael Phelps or Rudy Garcia-Tolson one day.'
Cody's amazing achievements as a double amputee are inspiring numerous others from disabled children, to soldiers who have lost limbs in Afghanistan or Iraq.
'We receive lots of requests from people wanting to meet Cody,' revealed Mrs McCasland. 'It really is incredible to see this little boy walking up to grown men and telling them they can do all the things he does.
'Soldiers are just like big heroes to Cody, so he is so excited to meet them. And in a way he's a little hero to them too.'
The young athlete has even inspired the creation of Team Cody, a group of fundraisers who compete in marathons, already raising $95,000 for the Texas Scottish Rite Children's Hospital.
Team Cody has also raised $4,000 for the Challenge Athletes Foundation, which helps disabled sportspeople.

'As long as Cody enjoys his sports, we'll go on supporting him,' said Mrs McCasland. 'We hope his story helps other kids and adults, and spreads the message that disabled people can do all these things.'

Prosthetic leg makes dog Cassidy a medical pioneer living in Delray Beach

By LONA O'CONNOR

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, March 06, 2009

Cassidy the dog was on his last legs - three of them, to be exact. He was featured on a morning television show, scheduled to be euthanized in 48 hours, mangy and bony from living on the street.

"They were looking for morons that want to adopt a dog," said Steve Posovsky, a Queens, N.Y., dentist with a self-deprecating sense of humor. "So I drove to Manhattan and took him home."

Since Cassidy met Posovsky, 61, his fortunes have been on the rise.

Posovsky and his wife Susan, who spend most of the year on the ocean in Delray Beach, made it their quest to find an artificial leg for Cassidy, who lost his right rear leg before he was adopted.

Cassidy got his leg and has become a pioneer in animal surgical annals, with a prosthetic that is actually part of his body. The scientists who worked on him are hoping the technique might someday be used on humans.

Online research and talking to veterinarians led Posovsky to Dr. Denis Marcellin-Little, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Durham, N.C. The veterinarian had already implanted prosthetics in living bone tissue on two cats. The procedure is called osseointegration, and in humans the most common example is tooth implants.

The base of the leg was permanently installed in Cassidy's thighbone, where bone and titanium implant grew together as one. The lower part of the leg screws into the titanium base.

Dr. Ola Harrysson, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering, worked on the mechanical aspects of building a titanium implant with a "circuit breaker," a system of strong magnets that separate if the remaining portion of the dog's natural leg is in danger of breaking.

Cassidy, who had thrown off external prosthetics, did not take well to the implant. So the Posovskys tried the prosthetic on him for just a few minutes a day. If Cassidy accepted this artificial leg, the NCSU team would provide him with a permanent version they were working on.

"Around Thanksgiving, he just woke up one morning and started using it," said Steve Posovsky.

On Monday, Cassidy and the Posovskys head back to North Carolina for a final version of the leg, resembling the curved carbon-fiber "C-legs" used by amputee runners. It will add a more natural spring to Cassidy's step than the training leg, which operates like a stiff spring-loaded telescopic tube.

The surgery and cost the Posovskys about $6,500 plus travel and other costs, with the university absorbing as research costs the many hours of trial and error.

The team at NC State hopes that their work will contribute to worldwide efforts to improve prosthetics, but for now, Marcellin-Little describes it as "only one piece of the puzzle."

Harrysson is working on projects benefitting humans, including a spinal cage for use in surgery on damaged vertebral discs, as well as polymer implants that gradually dissolve as new bone grows around them.

Ultimately, if veterinary techniques can be adapted, human amputees can benefit from more comfortable, effective prosthetics. The external prosthetics commonly in use now must be replaced regularly, and refitting is slow and painstaking.

Cassidy's surgery got attention in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina and in medical and engineering journals. Marcellin-Little is now hearing from dog owners and humans eager to try the technique. He is also exchanging notes with surgeons considering the technique for replacing human limbs. A few human subjects have had a procedure like Cassidy's, done by doctors in Sweden and Great Britain.

The professors are happy with Cassidy's progress.

"He used to have weakness and fatigue, and now he can walk for hours. He's a happy dog, and that's about as good as it gets," said Marcellin-Little.

"You wanna go to the beach with Daddy?" Posovsky asks the dog, who barks his agreement.

Jamie's walking tall again

Adam Derbyshire
March 04, 2009


A YOUNG footballer whose leg was amputated after he was struck down by cancer is now walking again.

Jamie Tregaskiss, 14, has finished chemotherapy and latest scans revealed he has beaten the disease

And he’s now trying out his new leg.

The youngster, who was on the books of Manchester City, faced a fight for life last year after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer.

Doctors had to take the decision to remove his left leg at the hip to stop a tumour in his pelvis spreading.

After nine months of treatment, Jamie and mum Mandy, 38, have been told all trace of the cancer has gone.

The teenager has now been fitted with a prosthetic limb and is learning to walk once again.

Mandy, of Polruan Walk, Hattersley said: "It’s the news we had our fingers crossed for. The way he has coped with it is astonishing. To go through so much at such a young age must be difficult, but it hasn’t changed him one bit.

"We have to be thankful it’s not taken his life and only his leg. He doesn’t want people to treat him any differently and couldn’t wait to get back to school. He really is an inspiration."

Jamie played for Hattersley FC, City and Alder School but began suffering with pain in his left hip after a playground fall last year.

An initial scan and X-ray revealed nothing. But in April he began to rapidly lose weight and suffer from fatigue. He was referred to Tameside Hospital for a CT scan which showed up a shadow on his pelvis, and a biopsy revealed it was cancer.

But with the gruelling treatment now at an end, his hair is beginning to grow back and he has put on weight.

And he can’t wait to be back out on the football pitch with an offer to join Manchester United FC amputees team when he reaches 16.

Jamie said: "I’m determined to play again. I have to learn to walk using my stomach muscles to move my new leg, but it’s going good."

Mum-of-four Mandy was touched by the amount of people who held fund-raisers to help send Jamie on a dream trip to Florida.

She added: "Thank you to everyone who sent cheques, especially Hattersley FC who held a series of events. We will take him in summertime."