Beyond Surviving: Quadruple Amputee Uses Adaptive Equipment to Build New Life
In 2010, Marine Corporal Todd Nicely became just the second service member to survive devastating battlefield injuries to all his limbs.
Though lightning-fast reactions by his Marine squad members and an amazing 6-minute response by a rescue helicopter helped to keep Nicely alive, his challenges continued as he moved through the many stages of his steady recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Nicely, visiting Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center to be certified for driving with new adapted driving gear, reflected on those early months working with advanced microprocessor-controlled prosthetics.
“It’s tough to let go of what used to be ‘normal,’” he said, sitting in a chair outside the Cleveland VA Medical Center’s physical therapy gym overlooking East 105th Street. “I used to rock climb. I used to be very active—an adrenaline junkie—and a big part of the battle was letting go” of how his body used to function.
“There are some things I really miss doing,” Nicely said. “I started right out using the advanced prosthetics, but now I find that I can get around and do most of what I want to do using these [more conventional] locking legs. You have to get used to walking differently and swinging your leg out, but once you do, it can make getting around easier for some things like walking outside on rough terrain.”
Nicely spent about an hour driving around Lakeview Cemetery with Tony Zakrzewski, Kinesiotherapist/Driver Rehab Specialist, to demonstrate his skills and ability to safely negotiate turns, and use braking and acceleration with the new equipment that will be fitted into his truck back home in St. Louis.
“Driving again makes a huge difference,” Nicely said. “The independence that it enables makes a huge difference—not having to rely on others or have that spontaneous ability to go where you want to go!”
After switching out a rotating steering wheel post for a “tri-pin” adaptor, Nicely passed his right-side driving controls review with ease. Following the time spent driving around the largely empty roads in the cemetery near Little Italy, Zakrzewski gave him the okay to drive back to the Cleveland VA Medical Center himself.
“I’ve spoken with tons of other amputees about the process of finding a new ‘normal’—turns out, the biggest battle is often in your own head,” Nicely said. “Adapting means looking at your situation and being realistic, then working hard to make the progress needed to build your life over again.”