During this season of giving, we are setting aside a time to highlight some of the individuals 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 and want to be able to successfully enjoy an active, mobile life. ABR provides running & sports legs to active amputees throughout the United States.
Over the next 10 days we will be telling the stories of several athletes we have served in the past year. Proceeds will go to further the mission of ABR.
Tanya - Run Baby Run
The competitive fire burns red hot for Tanya, who mapped out a big year for her running goals in 2023. An accomplished runner, this wife and mother set PRs in multiple distances. She also wanted to participate on ABR's first Bourbon Chase, a 200ish mile relay race from Louisville to Lexington, KY.
Tanya was Team ABR's first runner, and was assigned to run 20 miles over three legs. She ran her miles with ease and jumped at the chance to add more miles as the weekend wore on. In total, Tanya ran 30 miles over a 30 hour period. She kept up the energy not just for her teammates, but entire downtowns as well!
Daniel Katheku- The Snake and the Skier
When Daniel was a young boy, growing up in Kenya, he was bitten by a puff adder, a highly venemous snake. Daniel's leg was amputated at the knee in order to save his life. For the next 20+ years, he got around by hopping on one leg or using crutches.
A less determined man might have settled for an immobile, less fulfilling, less joyful life. Daniel is not that kind of person. He became a professional amputee soccer player (using only forearm crutches), a high jumper, and is on his quest to represent Kenya in the Paralympics as a downhill skier. He met another ABR athlete yeras ago while training at the National Ability Center in Utah. Just before Thanksgiving, he traveled back to Nashville for a week to get a new running leg and was warmly embraced by the community. Pam Lack & Bobby Kropp generously provided housing (and music!) for the week. FleetFeet Nashville provided new running shoes. Though Daniel has his sites set on lofty goals, he is down to earth and appreciative. He remarked to Aaron Fitzsimmons, his ABR prosthetist, that what he's most grateful for is the ability to walk to get food.
Les Dokkestul- Les is More (Than He Hoped For)
As we enter the 2023 holiday season, I can’t help but think about ho thankful I am for the last ten years, since ABR came into my life in 2013. Many times we talk about “where were you?” moments in our lives. On personal moment like this happened for me on Black Friday in 2013. As my wife and daughter shopped, I was sitting in the car returning a missed call to Amputee Blade Runners, about my inquiry into getting a running leg. As I
waited for them to answer my call, I imagined them saying “We liked your story, but you are just too darn old to get a running leg. Instead, I was informed that ABR wanted me to come to Nashville and be fitted with a running leg. That was an unforgettable and life-changing moment for me. The experience of working with these wonderful people as they made my
running leg using technology I had never had before was transformational On day 5 of this experience, and with some great coaching by the AB staff, I ran a mile at Centennial Park in Nashville. As an above the kne amputee who had not run since the night of my farm accident in 1974, this was a difficult but rewarding experience During these last 10 years, I was able to complete a number of 5k races which was a big deal for me, since I waited nearly 40 years to run again. I have enjoyed speaking at amputee workshops, and sharing my story with number of other amputees, as well as their family members I have also been able to be more active with golfing, hiking, hunting, an working on the farm, and doing this pain free, all because of ABR. These prostheses have been life-changing for me and my family. Prior to m experience with ABR, I was continually having infections in my stump, an skin breakdowns so bad, I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to wear my artificial leg without constant pain. Fortunately because of ABR, I have had ten pain free years of doing whatever I physically wanted to. Now lookin back over my last ten years with ABR, I continue to feel so blessed tha they came into my life. ABR continues to improve the lives of youn athletes, as well as older adults who are seeking more quality in life. (My story can be found on the ABR website, in the class of 2013.)
-Les Dokkestul
Kenbe- They Grow Up So Fast
Some of the individuals we work with, like Les and Daniel, have been amputees for decades before we start working with them. Others, like Kenbe, we have known from the very start of their prosthetic journey. Kenbe has a congenital limb difference and has grown up in Nashville. His parents first met ABR before his amputation. He loves running, jumping, and being active in countless different ways. He has been an excellent beta tester of new and prototype prosthetics because we knew if it could work for Kenbe, it would work with a lot of other people. All that running and jumping has paid off. Last summer he took home the gold in long jump at the Move United Nationals. As he grows in skills and ability, so must we. Earlier this month we provided Kenbe a new socket and long jumping blade. Even though he's an experienced user of running blades, he was surprised with the bounce he could get out of the new blade. We look forward to seeing how he does in future competitions.
Darryl Partridge- Men's Health Ultimate Guy 2024 Finalist
Life was chugging along normally for Darryl Partridge back in 2007. This husband, father, and school teacher was preparing for the new academic year, climbing up and down from a countertop when he paused for a quick rest. A shooting in his left foot when he stood up grabbed his attention. He later discovered that he fractured a bone in his ankle. The fracture refused to heal. Several surgeries and years later, he still had no functional use of the leg and opted for a below knee amputation.
Darryl was always very active and after amputation immediately set out to get back on track. Two weeks after his amputation he went to his local gym to work with a personal trainer. He told the trainer to treat him no differently than if he had two legs. Darryl became a personal trainer himself, and takes special pride in working with other amputees. Darryl first joined the ABR family in 2016 and has volunteered his time and expertise to help many ABR athletes. He particularly enjoys competing in Spartan races along with amputees he trains.
This hard-working, giving-back, turning lemons-into-lemonade man was just announced as a finalist for the Men's Health Ultimate Guy, 2024! We are so proud to be a part of his story, Click here to learn more about Darryl and his work on his site.
Emely Excels in New Leg
ABR is honored to have the privilege of working with athletes over multiple years. However, there is just something special about that first time. This week we welcomed Emely to the ABR family. A few years ago Emely was diagnosed with bone cancer in her leg. Her parents and providers decided to go with a rotationplasty, a unique type of surgery that they believed would give her more opportunites to be active. Emely loves swimming, basketball, and running. She has been able to enjoy swimming again after the surgery but struggled to find comfort and joy in her prosthetic leg. Emely travels from Puerto Rico to Boston for her medical care and while in Boston, became friends with another girl going through the same process. Both families decided to apply to ABR.
Emely was casted for her first ABR leg this Monday morning and by Wednesday afternoon was in her new leg, running and skipping down the halls. She immediately moved faster, better, and happier than she has in three years. The smile on her face lit up the whole room. She proclaimed that she now had the same energy as her wild child sister.
ABR Families Continue To Pay It Forward
ABR is the brainchild of Ryan Fann, ABR co-founder. When Ryan was a young boy, he was involved in an accident that led to the amputation of his foot. He never let his prosthesis serve as an excuse and pushed himself and his prosthetic leg to the limit, and then some. After breaking his prosthetic foot in a nationally televised football game, Ryan was given his first running leg. A few years, Paralympic gold medals, and world records later, Ryan wanted to give others the same chance he was given. While in prosthetic residency, Ryan, his residency director, Aaron Fitzsimmons, and prosthetic fabrication wizard Nick Gambill, created the idea of ABR - running legs and excellent prosthetic care for high activity amputees.
It is a special privilege when we get to help someone whose story echoes Ryan's. This is exactly what happened when we first heard about Daniel. Jack, the father of an ABR athlete near Birmingham, contacted ABR one Saturday this spring. Daniel was a teen who lost his leg in an accident at a young age. He loved athletics and pushed himself, and his prothetic leg, hard. He's a natural athlete but his prosthetic leg was holding him back, not propelling him forward. Daniel received two legs from ABR this summer and uses them for track and field, basketball, volleyball, and more.
Yesterday Daniel too had the opportunity of paying it forward. Daniel and Irina served as patient models for a training session ABR conducted with our friends at Fillauer. Prosthetic professionals from all over Latin America came to learn what techniques and devices can be used to benefit amputees back home.
If You Build It, They Will Go
ABR primarily works with athletes who have never used running blades. It can often be a mystery to see what sports they pursue with their blades.
Lucas first arrived on the ABR scene as a young teen nearly six years ago. A double amputee from a congential condition, he was passionate, compassionate, and full of energy; though he wasn't quite sure where to focus that energy. Over the years he has refined his focus and competes in track.
Two years ago Lily applied to ABR. Like Lucas, she was born in China and had both feet amputated due to a cogenital condition. They both spent their teen years in Wisconsin. Lily always enjoyed hockey, but discovered a love of track & field after receiving her running legs.
Lily and Lucas both traveled to Thailand this week to represent the United States in the World Abilitysport Games. Lily captured the silver in long jump while Lucas won the bronze in the 400M, besting his previous record by nearly 5 seconds!
The Strength of Sabi
ABR has many athletes who have done a variety of sports and activities.
One in particular found a passion for weight lifting, which has spiraled into participating in many lifting competitions.
Sabrina Reiswig participated and won 2nd place in World Strongest Disabled Man in 2018. She also has a passion for running and has participated in multiple Ragnar Relays with ABR and the Rock 'n Roll Nashville Half Marathon in 2019.
While weightlifting has been a big part of her life, spending time with her family is a top priority. Having two daughters, Sabrina encourages them that there are no limitations for anyone. Due to bone cancer at a young age, Sabrina lost her leg from the knee down. Her strong and stubborn personality prevented her from making any excuses and challenged herself to see what she was capable of.
The Reiswig family moved to Germany for three years while her husband was stationed in Germany. Since then, Sabrina has received multiple Key Spouse of the Year awards in the past couple of years at the squadron and group levels. The family moved back to the U.S. earlier this year, and ABR recently had the privilege of her family coming to Nashville to provide a better running knee for Sabrina. Their family enjoys hiking, going on bike rides, and Geocaching. Sabrina has also coached at the NubAbility Sports Camp for four years, coaching softball, baseball, grappling, and strength and conditioning. Before moving to Germany, Sabrina and her girls lived near Nashville while her husband was stationed in another country. Since she lived near ABR, Sabrina coached many ABR athletes who were campers at NubAbility while they were getting a new leg.
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