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As we head into this season of giving, we are setting aside a time to highlight some of the individuals and organizations we have been blessed to serve this year.

Amputee Blade Runners helps lower limb different athletes of all ages reimagine what is possible in sports and in life. Most of the people we work with have overcome trauma, cancer, infection, and congenital conditions.

Over the next 10 days we will be telling the stories of several athletes we have served in the past year. The first $5,000 in donations will be matched, with proceeds going to further the mission of ABR.

Cancer Can't Keep Colin Down

When we welcome new members into the ABR family we tell them two things: live your life to the fullest and encourage others to do the same. That is exactly what happened with Liam. Liam and Colin both live in the northeast and had a rotationplasty at the same hospital due to osteosarcoma. These families continued to share and learn together and we were overjoyed when Colin applied to ABR. Through our partners and friends at Move for Jenn Foundation we were able to make Colin his first ABR leg earlier this month.

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Kennedy Completes Her First 5K

Kennedy is now in her third year as an ABR athlete. She overcame significant trauma that led to her amputation and doesn’t let anything hold her back. Kennedy loves tumbling and gymnastics. In May of this year, she completed her first ever 5K, going twice as far as she had gone before. Why did she push herself so hard? Because this was not just a simple race around the neighborhood. Kennedy wanted to run with other ABR girls that she looks up to in so many ways. The sense of belonging to something bigger than you is just important as having the prosthetic equipment that helps you run.

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Brendan Beats the Odds

Brendan first reached out to ABR around this time last year. He overcame a bacterial infection that had him in the hospital for a month and a half and led to the amputation of one leg and the amputation of part of his other foot. But this did not stop Brendan, he quickly got back into an active lifestyle and began training for triathlons which is what led him to ABR. Brendan went to Savannah, GA to work with Ryan Fann where he received his first running leg which he is putting to good use, having completed his first half marathon as an amputee in October of this year.

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Amaris Amazes in Africa and the Americas

Amaris has been a part of the ABR family for over 5 years now and is working towards some massive goals. Amaris is on the Puerto Rican National Paralympic team and has recently been competing all over the world in places like Peru and Morocco. The next big thing on her agenda is the 2023 Paris World Games which she has recently qualified for and her eyes are set on going back to Paris in 2024 for the 17th Summer Paralympics. We are beyond excited to help Amaris in any way as she continues her athletic career. Amaris and her family are also truly exemplary members of the limb-different community. As her network grows, she has been able to introduce several new families to ABR. She was honored this year with the Junior Nationals Spirit of Excellence Award.

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Austin's First Sports Leg

Austin is another of ABR’s newer athletes. Austin, who is from South Carolina, made the trip to Savannah, GA to work with Ryan Fann and AJ Kosinski just a few weeks ago. Austin loves being active and baseball and golf are his favorite sports. Austin was born with a congenital condition called PFFD, leaving him with a need for both a prosthetic knee and foot. Community and friendship are invaluable facets of the ABR model. Ryan, who is also the clinical director for @Reform Prosthetics, arranged things so that the same day Austin received his new leg he was also able to play in a golf tournament along with ABR athletes Adam Kiel, and Zach Weber.

ABR is thankful for the opportunity to serve limb-different athletes of all ages. ABR is primarily volunteer-driven and is dependent on community support to keep making legs. Get your donation matched today!

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Siena Uses Blade for Gymnastics

These days, most people find out about ABR through a connection they have to an existing ABR athlete. Siena and her family came to ABR through a slightly different pathway. Siena was born with a congenital condition that led to the amputation of her foot when she was very young. She spent the first several years of her life in Utah. As her family was preparing to move to the Nashville area, her father searched the web for prosthetics in Nashville and immediately found ABR. Siena is a gymnast and we coordinated her first visit to ABR to coincide with Aspen’s visit to get a new leg. Aspen and Siena talked shop and Aspen described which activities in gymnastics are performed best with a blade. Soon after getting her first blade, Siena started seeing major gains in her gymnastics routine.

Julie's Journey

Julie is your prototypical “work hard, play hard” kind of Coloradan. She works hard at her job and in her leisure time loves running, cycling, and hiking. In 1998 she was in a mountain biking accident. Over the next 20 years she did everything she could to regain full mobility, but the pain never abated. In 2017 she had an Ertl below knee amputation and started to return to the things she loved. She had a great amputation and good prosthetic care, which allowed her to get back to hiking and cycling. Running, however, was another story. Without a blade she was significantly limited in her pace and endurance. In March of this year Julie traveled to Nashville to work with Justin Darm, one of ABR’s volunteer prosthetists. With her new running leg, she has been able to participate in her running distance of choice - the 10K.

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Jeff "Tries" Again

For years Jeff Davis pushed the pain aside. Twenty years and more than 20 surgeries later, he knew it was time for a change. After discussions with specialists, therapists, and his family, he elected for an Ertl below knee amputation. Jeff ran 5ks, triathlons, and half marathons before the amputation and wanted to be able to get back to enjoying that part of life. Jeff immediately started getting involved with ABR, participating in as many activities as he could with others in the limb-different community. At the start of this summer Jeff became an official paratriathlete and plans on continuing to push himself and others in his athletic endeavors.

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Lily's New legs

Lily, like so many of the new athletes that we work with, originally found out about us from another member of the ABR family. Hannah Longmire (tag her), like Lily, is a high school student athlete who wears prostheses on both legs and encouraged Lily to apply. Before coming to Nashville from Wisconsin, we also asked Lucas Jundt (tag him) to meet up with Lily to show her his ABR legs.

While ABR has worked with many hockey players, Lily was the first bilateral amputee goalie we have had the pleasure of working with. It took some long nights for Nick Gambill Corey Walls and Aaron Fitzsimmons but the payoff was worth it. Lily continues to play hockey and competed in multiple adaptive track events on Team GLASA

ABR was able to work with Lily through a special partnership with the Jordan Thomas Foundation and we are thrilled to watch Lily shine on the ice and track.

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Jacob Shines

Just after Thanksgiving last year we received a message from our good friend Sam Kuhnert at NubAbility. A mom of a young teen was looking high and low for solutions. As a nurse anesthetist in a major city, Carly was no stranger to the healthcare system, and knew that Jacob needed something different if he was going to enjoy sports and life as an above knee amputee.

Jacob lost his leg from cancer and wanted to return to the basketball court and run and play without overwhelming pain. We knew that the pathway to success would be more than just a week in Nashville with ABR. We did several video calls, connected him with other athletes who have similar types of residual limbs, and had him work on lots of new exercises. When Jacob arrived in Nashville to start the leg making process, we were all a little nervous. Our fears were quickly laid to rest as we all started seeing the fruit of all of that work, coupled with Jacob’s commitment to the process.

Jacob learned to use a new type of socket, knee, and blade. Since he got his new leg he has participated in not one, but 2 NubAbility camps and a host of other amazing experiences.

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ABR Thanksgiving 2022

Thankful to Serve