DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE AS AN UPPER LIMB AMPUTEE.

This is the story of a tragedy that happened at a workplace accident which resulted in the loss of my left hand and portion of my forearm in a screw auger. I am an industrial maintenance man and love my work and fixing things as I’ve always been mechanically inclined. Despite the complete devastation of this loss, you CAN fight back. It’s a story of having determination and with the proper support, you CAN succeed after a limb loss situation.

I started my career at a very early age. The first time I ever welded I knew in that moment I loved it. I’ve been a welder and fabricator for well over 30 years and I love that part of my career. So much so I would follow that path in earning a living for myself and my wife as well as my children in the future.

Fast forward 30 years of supporting a wife and kids my work ethic has always been strong and determined. After this major loss and devastation, I had the right support team and family being positive so that I was able to come back to work.

I went back to work just 5 weeks after the accident. My case worker said I had 14 months before I had to return to work and that was not an option for me even without prosthetics in the beginning. I am not the type to just sit back and never go back to work. I faced all of this head on and have navigated my way to learn how to work all over again after 3 decades.

With the building of The Wounded Wing Foundation, I hope to lend a helping hand to people with the hardest of amputations and that is upper limb loss because the human hand cannot easily be duplicated. Technology is improving every day and I hope that they can get closer to that goal.

I hope to build a foundation for amputees that don’t have the insurance or the means to get the things they need. After all, helping people is the most fulfilling thing we can do in this life!

Click here to view image. (Warning! This image is graphic and may be disturbing to some.)