Hi,
My friends, today’s story
is of an Amputee Pilot “Lt. Col. Andrew Lourake”. Andrew
is first
person with a transfemoral amputation to return to flying status in the history
of the U.S. Department of Defense. Andrew says "I don't really consider
myself disabled. There were plenty of things I couldn't do before when I had
two legs, but I wasn't considered disabled then. Everyone has a varying degree
of abilities. Missing my leg, just forces me to attack each task in a different
manner.
Let me tell you more about him
Andrew Lourake earned his pilot’s wings in 1988 after completing undergraduate pilot training at Reese Air Force Base, Lubbock, Texas. He served in Operations Just Cause, Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Provide Comfort, and Restore Hope. While in the Air Force, he rose through the ranks to lieutenant colonel. Prior to the accident that eventually cost him his leg, he was assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, where he flew the vice president, and high-level dignitaries around the world in Air Force Two.
His accident occurred when the throttle on his motocross bike stuck on Oct. 31, 1998, and he was thrown about 15 feet in the air, fracturing his left leg at the knee on impact. It seemed like his days in the cockpit of Air Force Two were over. He was driven to a local hospital and then airlifted to an inner-city trauma center that was better equipped to handle his injury, a left tibial plateau fracture that required open reduction. His surgery was delayed twice due to other trauma cases. When he finally made it to the operating room about eight hours later, he had developed compartment syndrome and underwent a fasciotomy. The following day he was back in the operating room, where his bones were plated and screwed back together, “and that’s where he picked up the staph infection”.
Although Lourake has been retired for about four years, he hasn’t slowed down. He spent much of the first 18 months of retirement renovating his new home after he and his wife moved to Florida to care for his aging parents. He grew up on boats and jet skis, he says, so the proximity to water allowed him to resume water sports with a vengeance. Now he pursues adrenaline rushes by riding his jet ski, water skiing, and diving, although he doffs the Ottobock X3 for diving. He also works out regularly, mountain bikes, and plays golf.
Using the Ottobock X3, with its 20 preprogrammed modes, has made everything easier or better, he says. For example, mode six, his golf mode, allows 20–25 degrees of knee flexion, and with the ability to crouch down a bit, he says he is able to get 20 more yards out of his drive. But it is around water and water sports that he has realized the biggest changes. When vacuuming his pool, he says he no longer worries about falling in and ruining his MPK. After he launches the Jet Ski or boat in the water, he can just get on and go—there is no stopping to change legs. He can jump in the lake or pool without taking off his leg. The Ottobock X3 is “a huge game changer,” he says. “It doesn’t limit me.”
Although he is retired from the Air Force, Lourake is not done with airplanes. He plans to take the Federal Aviation Administration pilot medical exam by year-end and volunteer for Veterans Airlift Command, a volunteer organization that provides air transportation for combat-wounded warriors, veterans, and their families through a network of pilots and aircraft owners. In the meantime, he began a new job on August 1, working for an offshoot of Veterans Airlift Command called Team-Up (www.vacteamup.org).
Lourake acknowledges that being able to just walk into a shower “might not sound like a big deal to most people,” but for the past 12 years he had to take off his leg, crutch into the shower, and be careful not to slip. The task was made more difficult if he wasn’t at home or somewhere else equipped with a walk-in shower as he would have to maneuver carefully into the tub first. The watersports he loves were even more complicated: Just to get into a boat he would have to switch from his prior MPK to a mechanical leg. Depending on the activity, he had to forego wearing prosthesis at all. In and of itself, the hydraulic leg wasn’t so bad, Lourake says, but, when he once again donned the MPK, it would take him two to three hours just to get accustomed to walking properly. “It’s not an easy transition,” he says. “It is somewhat easy to go from the C-Leg to a mechanical or hydraulic knee because you concentrate so much on where you step that you are much more careful. When you go the other way…it is really a pain in the butt….” For someone who is and always has been as active as Lourake, the versatility and functionality of the Ottobock X3 is unparalleled, he says.
My friends Lt. Col. Andrew Lourake sets a big example of courage, self confidence and strong mind with strong will power. And with the help of Latest Prosthetics like Ottobock C-Leg and X3 his life is back and doing all those activities which a normal person can do. Always remember that you are still you and only the exterior look has changed. I am here for you guys and I will keep updating relevant information, Real Stories and Details about Advance Technology Prosthetics for you. If you have any question or query and need my help on anything you can mail me at jas.singh474@gmail.com.
Thank you
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