Prosthetic leg
08-08-2018, 10:33 AM
#1
Prosthetic leg
I was in an accident at the 2018 mint 400 race qualifying. The vehicle caught fire and burned my legs pretty bad. As a result I received a below the knee amputation on my right leg. My question is will driving my S2000 still be possible due to the fairly tight footwell? Maybe another amputee can chime in. Thanks for any input.
08-08-2018, 03:02 PM
#2
Sorry to hear about the bad luck incident but it begs a couple of questions. First, do you currently use the prosthetic leg when driving other vehicles? Accelerator to brake could be an issue as left foot braking might become an issue with a clutch. Where do you live? I suspect a local owner might let you see how it would work out for you. Check your local regional forums.
08-09-2018, 08:11 AM
#4
Well, when the time comes, you can find your Rocky Mountain folks in this subforum: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/rocky-mo...000-owners-44/
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Admiral General Aladeen (08-09-2018)
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Admiral General Aladeen (08-09-2018)
08-09-2018, 01:00 PM
#6
Sorry to hear about this! I wish you a speedy recovery.
I certainly cannot offer much since I am not in your position, but I know that when autocrossing, my S2k is as easy to left foot brake in as my Scion tC was when I autocrossed it. So basically, my econobox FWD with lots of legroom felt about the same to me as the S2k in terms of footwell space. I am 5'9" so not a tall guy, but I would guess if you are able to drive other vehicles ok with it, then you would be fine in the S2k.
I certainly cannot offer much since I am not in your position, but I know that when autocrossing, my S2k is as easy to left foot brake in as my Scion tC was when I autocrossed it. So basically, my econobox FWD with lots of legroom felt about the same to me as the S2k in terms of footwell space. I am 5'9" so not a tall guy, but I would guess if you are able to drive other vehicles ok with it, then you would be fine in the S2k.
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Admiral General Aladeen (08-09-2018)
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08-24-2018, 03:12 PM
#8
Hi,
Sorry to hear about your accident. I actually laughed a little when reading your post since I would have the EXACT same concern if I were to have an amputation lol. I actually make prostheses for a living. Not sure if you've had a chance to talk to a prosthetist in your area but there are a few things I'd like to mention if you don't mind. I'm sure all of these events occurred in a blink of an eye, but know that most BK amputees get back to their daily lives at just about 100% capacity. Just the morning routines will be a little different. Also, depending on how badly you were burned, especially on the residual limb, those will be areas you will need to tend more care to. The last thing you want is for your skin to break, cause an infection, and deal with worse scenarios.
Assuming the skin around your residual limb is in-tact and healthy, begin using shrinkers (elastic socks) every day to reduce the swelling in you limb. Your limb is swollen from all the trauma and surgery and will continue to atrophy (shrink) over the next 1-2 years. Also, the muscles in your limb will atrophy with prosthetic use. After your limb matures (stops shrinking), achieving a long-term comfortable socket fit will get much easier. For the first 1-2 years, you will have to manage volume fluctuations with different ply socks supplied by your prosthetist. Those 1-2 years may feel frustrating due to the constant volume loss and change in feel of the prosthesis but trust me it is easily manageable with socks and your limb will stabilize with time.
Like I said before, you should be able to get back to everything you were doing before the amputation especially with a BK amputation. As far as driving the s2000 goes, you will need to be even more attentive than you were before and always remember safety first. Since the right foot controls the accelerator and brake, a lot of your proprioceptive feedback and pedal control will be diminished due to the loss of ankle motion. I would wish to lose my left leg over the right since you don't need to rely on as much ankle motion to control the clutch pedal. All your throttle and brake control will now have to come from your hip and knee range of motion which will take some time getting used to. Just practice in a safe lot as much as possible and you should be able to get back in the s2000 in no time. You might even want to consider having a separate prosthetic foot just for driving where the ankle is pre-positioned in some plantarflexion (foot pointed down) so that the distance to the pedals feel more natural to you. There are ways to achieve this with quick disconnect type components to change out the foot/ankle section. But who knows, maybe the way your walking leg is aligned will be perfect for driving too. Also it doesn't make sense to me to brake with your left foot as suggested above since the s2000 is a manual and will always require your left foot to be over the clutch especially when slowing to a stop.
Anyway, I hope my message finds you well and was able to answer at least a few questions you may have had. Let me know if I may be able to answer any other questions. I'll give you answers as honest as I can not sugar coat anything and give you as much insight into my world as possible.
PM me if you have any questions, I don't mind chatting!
Good luck!
-Andy
Sorry to hear about your accident. I actually laughed a little when reading your post since I would have the EXACT same concern if I were to have an amputation lol. I actually make prostheses for a living. Not sure if you've had a chance to talk to a prosthetist in your area but there are a few things I'd like to mention if you don't mind. I'm sure all of these events occurred in a blink of an eye, but know that most BK amputees get back to their daily lives at just about 100% capacity. Just the morning routines will be a little different. Also, depending on how badly you were burned, especially on the residual limb, those will be areas you will need to tend more care to. The last thing you want is for your skin to break, cause an infection, and deal with worse scenarios.
Assuming the skin around your residual limb is in-tact and healthy, begin using shrinkers (elastic socks) every day to reduce the swelling in you limb. Your limb is swollen from all the trauma and surgery and will continue to atrophy (shrink) over the next 1-2 years. Also, the muscles in your limb will atrophy with prosthetic use. After your limb matures (stops shrinking), achieving a long-term comfortable socket fit will get much easier. For the first 1-2 years, you will have to manage volume fluctuations with different ply socks supplied by your prosthetist. Those 1-2 years may feel frustrating due to the constant volume loss and change in feel of the prosthesis but trust me it is easily manageable with socks and your limb will stabilize with time.
Like I said before, you should be able to get back to everything you were doing before the amputation especially with a BK amputation. As far as driving the s2000 goes, you will need to be even more attentive than you were before and always remember safety first. Since the right foot controls the accelerator and brake, a lot of your proprioceptive feedback and pedal control will be diminished due to the loss of ankle motion. I would wish to lose my left leg over the right since you don't need to rely on as much ankle motion to control the clutch pedal. All your throttle and brake control will now have to come from your hip and knee range of motion which will take some time getting used to. Just practice in a safe lot as much as possible and you should be able to get back in the s2000 in no time. You might even want to consider having a separate prosthetic foot just for driving where the ankle is pre-positioned in some plantarflexion (foot pointed down) so that the distance to the pedals feel more natural to you. There are ways to achieve this with quick disconnect type components to change out the foot/ankle section. But who knows, maybe the way your walking leg is aligned will be perfect for driving too. Also it doesn't make sense to me to brake with your left foot as suggested above since the s2000 is a manual and will always require your left foot to be over the clutch especially when slowing to a stop.
Anyway, I hope my message finds you well and was able to answer at least a few questions you may have had. Let me know if I may be able to answer any other questions. I'll give you answers as honest as I can not sugar coat anything and give you as much insight into my world as possible.
PM me if you have any questions, I don't mind chatting!
Good luck!
-Andy
Last edited by Mijae007; 08-24-2018 at 03:15 PM.
08-25-2018, 05:07 AM
#9
Registered User
Keep in mind these are stick shift cars with 3 pedals and left foot braking isn't practical. As noted throttle is typically manipulated via the ankle, not the whole leg.
-- Chuck
-- Chuck
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