Dana, Hip Disarticulate: Amazing Story of Survival and Perseverance

This is the story of a true warrior! Dana had been a runner all her life, until a series of events beginning in 2002 led to the amputation of her leg through the hip joint in 2014. Surgery for a stress fracture was unsuccessful and was followed by a knee replacement in 2006. Still in pain and fighting recurrent infections, Dana underwent a second knee replacement a year after that, but that didn’t stop the decline in her health as the infection continued to rage. In 2007, Dana’s leg was amputated above the knee and for the next 7 years she sustained repeated revisions of the limb as they chased the infection, eventually leading the the amputation of her leg at the hip in 2014. She was fit with her first Hip Disarticulate socket, but later that year Dana fell and broke her pelvis. Still determined to walk, she resumed wearing her prosthesis, but then suffered a broken rib from the socket! Despite the discomfort, Dana continued to wear the prosthesis for short periods of time – she was not willing to give up on her wish to walk again, but spent most of her time on crutches. We met Dana earlier this year when she expressed an interest in our patented hip disarticulate system. Within a week she was walking confidently inside the parallel bars, and the next week she was walking outside the bars with a cane as she learned how to walk up/down stairs and ramps. She’s now home in St. Louis and reports that she is back to doing many things she has not been able to do for years! #warrior #fighter #strong #independence #noboundaries