Extreme Retirement, Navy Seals Edition

Innovation in prosthetics technology is enabling a whole new population of athletes to emerge—a population that includes quite a few older folks. John Grimm of Vail, Arizona, at 70 years old, is one of them. And with the aid of his new RUSH™ Foot, developed by Ability Dynamics, Tempe, Arizona, he says that he is a higher-performing athlete today than with his previous prosthetic foot, a carbon-composite foot with a flexible keel. Grimm knows something about pushing himself physically, having spent 30 years as a United States Navy SEAL from 1960 to 1990. Training to qualify as a U.S. Navy SEAL is infamously tough, requiring more than a year of specialized underwater, combat, and survival training. "I found the job that I loved and took it from there," says Grimm, who also served as a combat soldier in the Vietnam War. He jokingly says that he was so married to his chosen career that when he was told that he would have to retire at his 30-year mark, he thought about asking for spousal support. Wanting to stay active after his retirement, Grimm took the opportunity to travel extensively, until severe vascular problems led to a transfemoral amputation of his left leg in December 2009. Although any amputation is not easy, Grimm says he was determined not to be set back. Since his amputation, Grimm has taken up kayaking, surfing, sailing, and competitive cycling. In 2012, he participated in the National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic, a San Diego, California-based program that promotes rehabilitation of body and spirit by teaching summer sporting activities to veterans with physical or psychological impairments. Not that Grimm needed much convincing. In November 2011 he raced in the El Tour de Tucson, Arizona, a 111-mile cycling event that he finished in four hours. Grimm's prosthetist was so impressed with his patient's physical achievements that he introduced him to Richard Sainz, national clinical manager at Ability Dynamics. Ability Dynamics' RUSH Foot was in the beta testing stage at the time, and Sainz was interested in its real-world performance. He was particularly interested in getting feedback from Grimm because he is an older, active, microprocessor knee user. "Rick Sainz came down and asked me if I would like to try the RUSH Foot—tells me to go out and do everything I usually do for a month," Grimm recalls. "I thought, what you're telling me but not telling me, is that you want me to try to break it." An unexpected trip to Italy extended Grimm's month-long tryout to seven weeks, which included driving across the country to New York and then clambering up and down hills in Europe. By the time he came back, Grimm says he was convinced this was the foot for him. "I didn't do any of this stuff before," he says. "I've done more since I lost my leg, and I've done a lot more since I got this foot in January." He says the angle of the foot is more comfortable, especially for activities like riding his bike. Blount Swain, president of Ability Dynamics, credits the forward thinking and imaginative utilization of materials at his company for the success Grimm and others have found with the foot. "Most of our leadership has not been in the prosthetics space previously, which gave us an unencumbered approach as to how to attack a problem in the marketplace," Swain says. "That allowed us to do some very open-ended thinking about how to solve this whole durability and flexibility issue." With a long history working at medical device companies, Swain had seen the application of materials across industries work before-for example, carbon fiber in aviation technology. "I saw some parallels to this business where things evolved and different materials became available through different applications of science," he says. The RUSH Foot is made of a composite material developed by Ability Dynamics, which they have dubbed Flexeon. It combines strength with flexibility to offer vertical compression, energy return, and ease of motion. Grimm says that all of these characteristics help him to participate fully in the many athletic activities he has chosen to pursue. The RUSH Foot is available in two custom sole options, the full rocker sole, worn by Grimm, and most suitable for patients with transfemoral, knee disarticulation, and hip disarticulation amputations, and the half rocker sole, which is more appropriate for patients with transtibial amputations. Swain says feedback from beta test patients like Grimm has been illuminating for the Ability Dynamics team, so much so that Grimm's contributions led to the differentiation between models. Up until Grimm tried the RUSH Foot, Ability Dynamics was working mostly on solutions for transtibial amputations. His perspective also offered information on another factor that might affect performance because he uses a microprocessor knee. "To have an older person who was wearing a microprocessor knee really gave us a look into the lifestyle of a picture-perfect type of consumer," Swain explains. "Even though people like John might represent a smaller portion of the patient population, there is definitely a lot of momentum for microprocessor products right now, so we wanted to make sure that the RUSH Foot could be utilized appropriately and effectively for those patients who are wearing them." In addition to his many recreational activities, Grimm says his new foot has helped him to do other things as well, such as paint his kitchen, which required climbing up and down ladders. He adds that he is anxious to try new models of the foot if they become available. Grimm is also in the business of giving back. In addition to hanging out with his friends on the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Team, he works with returning injured veterans at the local Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) center to teach them basic skills and maneuvers to increase their mobility and quality of life. "You would be surprised at the number of people who really need help," Grimm says. "Right now my trainer, Jim Boyer, is working with 13 amputees. I asked if he needed a hand and he said, 'Thank you. I need you.' I said that I would come in and teach them to do this and that, trying to get them off their duffs. I tell them that there's a lot more to life out there. Just because you lost a part doesn't mean you're dead.... My wife says that when I pass away, she's going to donate me to the Mayo Clinic so they can take me apart and find out what makes me tick." Clayton Moore is a freelance writer based in Boulder, Colorado. He specializes in many subjects including medical technology, aviation, business, and entertainment features. Clayton can be reached at claywriting@yahoo.com

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