By Erin L'Hotta Sentinel contributor
Dennis Vanderiest has regained much of his mobility with the help of his computer-controlled hydraulic prosthetic C-Leg.
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Every day, when Dennis Vanderiest gets up in the morning, he sits on the side of his bed to put on his T-shirt, his pants and his prosthetic leg.
He slides his upper left leg inside a silicone liner covered in aloe vera. Then, he steps into his C-Leg, a custom-made prosthetic with a microprocessor-
"With my old prosthetic leg, every step I took I had to think about it," Vanderiest said. "Now, I can walk halfway across the store and not know that I don't have a leg."
Vanderiest, of Holland, is an above-the-knee amputee. He lost his leg in 2002 in a traffic crash, which pinned his leg underneath his car. After the crash, he was treated at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids. There he received a custom-made leg, which he said was difficult to walk with. His knee often locked causing him to stumble and fall. With each step he took, he had to swing his leg.
Now, with the new state-of-the-
For the past two months, Vanderiest hasn't traveled to the rehabilitation hospital in Grand Rapids. He now goes to Mary Free Bed in Holland for his C-Leg adjustments. Since December, the Holland location has offered the C-Leg for above-the-knee amputees.
"Holland has grown over time, and there definitely is a need for us to offer the C-Leg at our Holland location," said Dr. Mark Porth, a certified prosthetist-
Within the past few months, Porth said there are six new above-the-knee amputees living in Holland. Seventy-percent of Mary Free Bed clients in Holland are below-the-knee amputees.
Vanderiest, who in 2002 was the second person in Grand Rapids to be fitted for a C-Leg, started a support group called the West Michigan Amputee Council at Holland Hospital. The 15-person group meets occasionally to talk about the difficulties of being an amputee. Holland Hospital notifies Vanderiest when there is a new amputee at the hospital.
"We go to the hospital and talk to (the amputee) and ease his or her mind," Vanderiest said. "I don't like people who sit around and feel sorry for themselves. If you can see someone else who's also an amputee going about life, it calms you down."
Since the C-Leg was introduced to the United States in 1999, Porth said there are 15,000 amputees who use it as a way to go about their daily routines.
"With everything, West Michigan is half a step behind in technology,"
As the need becomes more and more common and the number of amputees rise, Vanderiest will continue to encourage his friends.
"Every day is different," Vanderiest said. "Sometimes I feel good. Sometimes my leg feels too tight."
Although his disability keeps him from holding a full-time job, Vanderiest tries to stay active as much as he can. He reads about new prosthetics that will someday surpass the technology of the C-Leg, and dreams about being able to run without realizing with every stride that he has a prosthetic leg.
"Twenty years from now, if somebody loses their leg, I bet they won't even know it," Vanderiest said.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To contact Dennis Vanderiest about support for local amputees, e-mail him through his Web site,
bestdealdirect.net.
