Paul
"With the C-Leg, I am back enjoying my life. I know that I can do anything I set my mind to. Now I easily travel the world, train with the Canadian Paralympic Sledge Hockey Team, coach the Canadian Paralympic Amputee Hockey Team and hold down a full-time strenuous job."
Forty-three-year-old Paul Rosen of Toronto, Ontario, was once an avid hockey player with a promising career in the NHL. Then at the tender age of 15, his dreams of a professional career started to crumble when he shattered his right leg. A true fan of the game, Paul could not stay off the ice. Paul continued to play hockey after his initial recovery, but sustained numerous subsequent breaks to his injured leg.
Paul is now married and with three teenagers. Six years ago he had knee replacement surgery followed by 14 operations in a very short two-year period. Unfortunately, an operating room infection set in, antibiotics were ineffective, and Paul was told he had only three months to live.
Paul refused to give up! He sought numerous medical opinions and finally had his leg amputated above the knee last June. By September Paul was fitted with a number of different prostheses. None of them gave him the total comfort and freedom of movement he so desperately desired. Everything changed that July when Paul was fitted with a C-Leg®, the world's first completely computer-controlled artificial limb.
The C-Leg® System is based on revolutionary technology; a system so finely tuned that it uses PC software, board sensors and microprocessors to monitor and adapt to an individual patient's unique movements. Using the same advanced technology employed by the military to improve the performance and stability of their aircraft, the C-Leg® allows its users to easily walk down stairs and ramps, as well as maneuver uneven surfaces without the fear of falling. The unique software algorithms determine the phase of gait, then immediately adjust the knee functions to compensate. This electronic system monitors the patient's movement 50 times per second to create a prosthetic limb that models an individual's natural gait.
The C-Leg's microprocessor enables the amputee to move in a very natural way allowing for more smooth and stable movement. Thanks to this amazing technology available from Otto Bock HealthCare, Paul has scored the ultimate hat trick. He is back working a full-time job (which includes heavy lifting), playing goalie for the Canadian Paralympic Sledge Hockey team, and coaching the Canadian Amputee Hockey Team. Well done Paul!
