Bruce Daugherty: “Can’t” Never Did Anything

May 24 is a significant day in Bruce Daugherty's life for two reasons. It's his birthday and it's his "ampuversary"-the day he underwent a right transtibial amputation in 2010. When asked why he wanted to schedule his amputation surgery on his birthday, Daugherty says he told the surgeon, "I want it done on my 40th birthday because I was born...with a birth defect, and the clubfoot has served me well for 39 years. It just seems appropriate and fitting to start a new chapter in my life on my birthday." Surgeon's Words Come to Bear When Daugherty was born, his right foot was severely turned in. He underwent eight corrective surgeries during his youth, the first when he was three months old and the last at age 17. After that operation, the surgeon forewarned Daugherty and his parents that his foot would plague him again in his adult years. A truck driver with a steady employment history, Daugherty says he started getting fired from jobs in 2007. "In 2009, I was fired from four jobs... and they all said the same thing: 'You can't keep up; you can't do the work,'" he says. Daugherty says he always walked with a noticeable limp as his right ankle was self-fusing and his affected leg was two inches shorter than his left leg, which medical professionals tried to correct by adding a one-inch insert into his shoe and building up the sole one inch. However, over the years he had developed arthritis, and the pain from that and scar tissue in his right ankle was increasing with a vengeance, further hindering his ability to walk and drive. On December 9, 2009, Daugherty took the driver's seat as a trucker for the last time. He was driving an empty crude oil tanker from Greeley, Colorado, where he was living, to a refinery in Denver. It was early morning, the snow was starting to fall, and the roads were getting icy. The light before him turned red and he applied the air brakes. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="391"] Daugherty's activity level increased exponentially after his amputation, allowing him to enjoy the Colorado outdoors. Photographs courtesy of Bruce Daugherty.[/caption] "You have to put a considerable amount of pressure on the air brakes," Daugherty explains. "And pain just shot up my leg." He took his foot off the brake pedal to alleviate the pain, he says, but he still needed to slow the truck. He stepped on the brakes even harder and pain shot up his leg again, but he kept applying the brakes. The truck started to jackknife, but he managed to correct that and stopped the truck safely. At that point, Daugherty knew the pain he had felt when applying the brakes made it unsafe to continue driving. His surgeon's words so many years ago had come to bear. Something had to be done. Searching for Solutions Daugherty turned to the Internet to research what others in similar situations had done. "I saw some had amputated and some had an ankle replacement, so that caught my attention-an ankle replacement," he says. He made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon, who took x-rays of Daugherty's ankle. However, due to the extensive scarring and arthritis, Daugherty wasn't a good candidate for an ankle replacement. The surgeon offered four alternatives: have the ankle surgically fused since it was already self-fusing, which would limit Daugherty's activity; surgically clean up the scar tissue, a short-term remedy that would have to be repeated in the future; amputate, which would alleviate the pain and allow him to remain active; or do nothing. This was not a decision Daugherty took lightly. For the next several weeks he talked it over with his wife, prayed, and turned to his parents for support. His mother told him, "We got you to walk for 39 years and now it's time for something else. We'll support whatever decision you'll have to make." During that same time, the surgeon referred Daugherty to Certified Orthotics and Prosthetics, Greeley, for an AFO to stabilize his ankle. While there, he discussed prosthetic options with the prosthetist on staff, Chris Manning. That night, Daugherty says he went home and made a list of pros and cons regarding amputation. "The only con would be I'd be without my foot, which served me as good as it could for 39 years, but it was no longer serving me well. It was keeping me down." [caption id="" align="alignright" width="281"] In August 2015, Daugherty drove to Washington DC to participate in a rally protesting proposed changes to Medicare's coverage of lower-limb prostheses.[/caption] With the decision made, Daugherty says he sought counseling to work through the emotional aspects of undergoing such a life-changing surgery. Road to Recovery Not one to mince words, Daugherty says the pain after his amputation was horrific; he describes it as a nonstop pins-and-needles sensation that persisted for about a month. After his cast came off, he attended physical therapy three times a week and received his first prosthesis at eight weeks post-amputation, returning to Manning, who initially fit him with an Össur Re-Flex Rotate foot with a pin system, and then eventually with suction suspension, which eliminated the need for prosthetic socks. "I started off using crutches as I walked, only staying in my leg a few hours at a time," he says. "After about two months I was only using one crutch on my affected side as I began to weight bear more on my prosthetic." He took his first unassisted steps in late November 2010. By January 2011, he was walking fairly well on his own. "During this time, I kept reminding myself to take one day at a time and that tomorrow will be better than today," he says. Daugherty admits his road to recovery has been bumpy and fraught with setbacks-mostly emotional ones, and some financial ones since he lost his career. He was scared and sometimes wondered whether he had made the right decision. He readily acknowledges that he suffers from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet he persists, keeping his father's motto in mind: "Can't never did anything." One turning point came in mid-2011. Daugherty, a model train hobbyist, belonged to a Facebook group advocating for the preservation of the historic Moffat railroad bed that runs over the continental divide from the west side of the Rocky Mountains near Winter Park, Colorado, to the east side near the town of Rollinsville, Colorado. While perusing that page, he posted a sarcastic reply to a picture and comment extolling a great hiking trip someone had taken at Rollins Pass. Daugherty says he wrote, "It must be nice to be able to get out and actually enjoy life and do something." That person responded by saying, "Trust me. It will get better." That person was Mike Shea, a snowboarder and Paralympic hopeful at that time (he's since reached that goal, winning silver at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia); Shea has a left transtibial amputation. The two developed a friendship and Shea taught Daugherty how to snowboard-a sport he continues to pursue. Additionally, Daugherty has been taking classes toward earning an associate degree in marketing management, and has had several public speaking engagements during which he talked about his amputation and working through the despair he has felt periodically through his recovery. Throughout all this, he has relied on his faith. He has the support of his wife, Melanie, and the encouragement of his children, Micah, Brenna, and Ashley. "I'm learning to count the blessings that I have," he says. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="395"] From left, Daugherty, Micah, Melanie, and Brenna.[/caption] He is regrouping by immersing himself in making videos and video editing for personal reasons-hoping to reach others who despair or have suffered limb loss and offer them inspiration-and for the church he attends. (The name of his YouTube channel is Popcorn Video Productions.) Despite everything, or perhaps because of everything, Daugherty emphasizes that amputation was the right choice for him. He was always active as a child, despite his parents' attempts to restrict his activities, yet as an adult, the deteriorating condition of his affected foot and ankle posed unwanted limitations. "I never knew the phrase 'slow down,'" he says. "[B]eing the strong, persistent person I am...I tried to keep up with other kids." Today, Daugherty is much more active than he could have been prior to the amputation. "Snowboarding was never an option. Riding a bike wasn't an option. Would I be able to build a chicken coop or work in the garden or work on my camper? That wouldn't have been an option to do those things. Because toward the end, before my amputation, I was lying on the couch in a lot of pain," he says. "Clearly I made the right choice."

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Bruce Daugherty: “Can’t” Never Did Anything

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Incorporating Metal Hardware in Laminations

Optimal Billing Strategies

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O&P JOBS

Certified Prosthetist / Prosthetist-Orthotist (CP/CPO) Gates Prosthetics + Mobility Clinic — Mountain Home, AR

Clinic Manager – Certified Prosthetist Orthotist (CPO) – Rogers, AR

CPO

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