When Lester Sabolich opened his prosthetic clinic in Oklahoma City in 1947, he just wanted to make a change in lives. His son, John, grew up watching his father design prostheses and was inspired to join the business. He attended New York University and became a certified prosthetist-orthotist, eventually taking over his father’s business in the 1980’s..
INSPIRATIONS BLOG
Eric LeGrand – Inspiring Athlete with Determination and Perseverance
On October 16, 2010, on a kickoff to the Army Black Knights, Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand collided with the ball carrier. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury and lay on the ground unable to move. As the gurney rolled off the field at MetLife Stadium, LeGrand tried to force a thumbs up to the crowd to tell them that he was alright but unable to perform the gesture, saying “it felt like a thousand pounds”.
E-NABLE – freely given 3D mechanical hand prosthetics – an inspiring volunteer community
Stephen Davies, who is a recipient and tester of e-NABLE devices himself, traveled 200 miles round trip to deliver an **experimental design to his first recipient: an 8 year old little girl named Isabella, from Bristol UK.
The “3d Mechanical Hand – Maker Movement” was inspired by two strangers (a movie prop and puppet maker from the US and a carpenter from South Africa who has lost several fingers in an accident). They found each other via the internet and came together from 10,000 miles apart – to create a prosthetic hand device for a small child in South Africa …and then gave the plans away – for free…so that those in need of the device could make them for themselves or have someone make it for them.
Katie Jerdee – Stroke Awareness Inspiration
fellow stroke survivor Ray Driscoll, Katie Jerdee and Tedy Bruschi after the Boston Marathon
As a 20 year old college sophomore in 2006, Katie Jerdee was running with soccer teammates at Northeastern University when she suddenly lost control of her right arm and leg. She began to veer uncontrollably into oncoming traffic. She grabbed a street sign post to stop. “It felt like a giant magnet was pulling my right arm,” she said, adding she got a severe headache like never before. She slurred her speech when she talked. Jerdee agreed to go to the emergency roon,thinking she was probably just dehydrated.
“I had no idea what was happening,” she recalled. “I waited on a bench while the other girls ran to the field to get my coach.” Transported to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Katie heard the diagnosis of stroke.
Amputee Support Groups – inspiring, informative, invaluable
Support groups not only provide emotional support for amputees and their families, but also information and peer friendships. They have become integral parts of the lives of many amputees and their families, providing information and advice about medical treatments, research and strategies – through brochures, websites, and person-to-person sharing in the group meetings.