Sent on behalf and authorization of Ron Smith:
Ertl Patient Testimonial
First documented Ertl reconstruction recipient for the state of Iowa!!
Ronald Smith age: 51 Amputation Level: Trans-tibital Amputation date: August
1993 Became whole again: February 2, 2006
Surgeon: Dr. Matthew Weresh
Life History:
This is a brief history of my adult life. I joined the Marines in 1972 to
do my duty and serve for my country. My experience in the Marine Corps,
taught me: discipline, responsibility, sacrifice, service, and most
importantly the value of staying in top physical condition. I spent my
entire life being very active and was known for my desire to push the limit
on everything I did. This was not different in my military life. I was
always striving for top scores in physical training. I quickly adapted to my
new military life and often enjoyed to solitude of running to provide time
away from distraction to focus on my personal goals. Following my discharge
from the Marines, I continued this practice of physical training as a
necessary part of my daily routine. With new responsibilities in civilian
life and a young family to provide for, this was not always easy to
accomplish, though I managed to stay on task. My life changed drastically
In August of 1993, when I had a motorcycle accident. A Vehicle ran an
intersection and the focus of the impact was between my right knee and
ankle. The impact was severe and I was launched through the air. The
Surgeons made several attempts to re-attach the limb, though I had lost a
lot of blood and the tissue was ultimately dead. On a Wednesday night, my
Doctor was making his rounds and I was told that they would be taking the
leg off below the knee in the morning.The surgery that was performed that
dreadful morning was a procedure that is commonly performed in our state, as
I have learned recently. The procedure is referred to as a guillotine-type
amputation in the prosthetic world. The pain, during recovery was intense.
I had to deal with the psychological impact of my condition, and then the
constant pain of recovery. I was able to get through these difficulties, as
I was anxious to be able to move past the setback and return to my daily
routine of working and getting back into physical shape. My initial
prosthetic treatment left much to be desired. First I was fit with a
pe-lite type prosthesis with a sach style foot, which no longer fit after
the first several days. Ambulation was terribly painful at first although
they told me I’d get used to it, and I trusted that to be true. I forced
through the discomfort, believing that it’s just part of the rehabilitation.
I was motivated to have my life back, just the way it was, and I wasn’t
going to let a little pain slow me down.I suffered with pain every step
throughout the day. If I could just get through a days work I could make it
home, and rest up for the following day. I just learned to live with the
pain. I also learned that there were a handful of different prosthetic
facilities in the area, so I thought there might be an alternative to this
“live in pain all day and recover at night”, cycle I was in. I made the
rounds to every facility in town. They would try different technology, and
every thing they did was the new amazing “fix-all”. Through lack of exercise
and inability to maintain a regular daily routine, I subsequently started
gaining weight. I was relieved to finally find a facility and practitioner
that would dedicate there time to my regular weekly appointments. I finally
had a fit that was “tolerable” and would allow me to run my construction
business and stay somewhat active. They devised a system that would
eliminate the contact to the bottom of the residual limb by applying
pressure primarily at the knee. I would shred the gel liners and it was
necessary to have constant adjustments performed to accommodate my swelling
and shrinking. Now the prosthesis was working as well as it could, though I
still could not tolerate heavy activities such as running, riding a bicycle,
or even extended periods of walking. It wasn’t until my Prosthetist, Jonas,
posed a question to me. He said, “On a scale from 1 to 10, how do you rate
your current lifestyle?” I had to think for a bit, ok for a while, and I
said, “probably about a 2”. It clicked, every day I had to focus on my
prosthesis and my physical condition. Everything depended on how my
prosthesis fit. I would schedule everyday around this obstacle. They had
been talking about the way my amputation was done for years and the
complications that it was creating in making a prosthesis to accommodate the
limb. Then they asked me if I would like to see a video that they had
ordered in. They set up an area for me to sit and watch the video. I
associated with the patients in the testimonials, everything about the
description and the actual procedure made perfect sense. Well that was it.
I had to have this! All those years of suffering, I had put in my time. I
had recently reached a weight that I thought I’d never reach and surpassed
it. I weighed myself and I was up to 303 lbs. At my age, I couldn’t afford
to neglect my physical condition any longer. Jonas contacted Dr. Weresh and
accompanied me to a consultation. Dr. Weresh was known for providing
successful amputations, though this would be his first Ertl procedure. We
discussed all of the details of the reconstruction, and all of the risks
involved. They performed a thorough examination: x-rays, physical, etc. And
then scheduled my surgery for: February 2nd, 2006. And well that’s where the
rest of my life began. The initial hospital stay was very uncomfortable. I
had forgotten how painful it really was, though knew that the pain would
only be for a limited time and I’d be able to do all of the things I’d been
dreaming about. I followed the Ertl limb conditioning exercises. Jonas was
particular to not let me rush the healing process though the bills were
piling up, and I was not able to be very productive. We waited for six
weeks after the surgery to begin socket fitting. The first several steps
were so terribly painful. I almost lost hope, but they reassured me that
this time, the pain was only temporary. I focused on letting the limb tell
my when it was ok to start walking on it again. After one week of limited
weight bearing, using crutches, I was surprised to find that I could start
to put more weight on the limb. After two weeks, I started full weight
bearing and walking without the crutches. The pain went away. We went
through several socket fittings as the swelling quickly disappeared from my
limb. Then something miraculous happened. I noticed that my socket had
become so loose that I was walking only on the bottom, and I could not feel
any discomfort at all!At the two-month period, we returned to Dr. Weresh’s
office for a follow-up visit and X-rays. We looked at the x-rays and I could
see the bridge starting to solidify. I was able to amaze Dr. Weresh by
standing on my prosthesis without any discomfort. We have set a time for the
1-year mark to see the progress.
Well I’ve abandoned my weekly prosthetic appointments now. I don’t have to
spend more than 20 minutes a day worrying about my prosthesis, and only then
it’s to add/remove a sock. I’m pain free. I’m currently remodeling my
entire house. I’ve re-joined our local Y.M.C.A., and I gradually building
back up to my desired exercise routine. And I’d like to say that when I
weighed my self today, the scale said 280 lbs.!! A good start!!Aside from
all of that, I’m happy, not quite to the 10 rating, but it’s early yet. I’ll
be running now, and taking care of business! Catch me if you can!!!
Thank you so much to the Ertls, The Barr Foundation, Jonas Chladek, and most
of all Dr. Weresh for taking a chance, trying something new and changing my
life forever!- Ronald Smith
Anthony T. Barr
President
Barr Foundation
www.oandp.com/barr
www.ErtlReconstruction.com
