Christopher Payne

Christopher Payne joined the U.S. Army in 1999. Payne spent six years stationed in various locations, including Fort Stewart in Georgia and Fort Campbell in Tennessee, as well as one year in Korea and another in Iraq. On his second trip to Iraq in late 2007, while walking on patrol, Payne was critically injured after stepping on a roadside bomb, or improvised explosive device.

“I coded several times,” recounted Payne. “I was first sent to Baghdad and then north Iraq where I had my initial amputation. When I was stable enough, I was sent to Landstuhl, Germany where they stabilized me for the plane ride to Walter Reed in Washington, D.C.”

Payne spent the next year and a half at Walter Reed Army Medical Center undergoing more than 30 surgeries and going through rehab. “Other than the final complete amputation of my leg, most of the other surgeries were to wash out my wounds every other day,” explained Payne.

While at Walter Reed, Payne met another Army amputee who was playing basketball in a wheelchair. “I recognized he was one of my sergeants from Fort Campbell. We got to talking, and he recommended Matt Bulow and Bulow BioTech Prosthetics.”

At his initial appointment at Bulow BioTech, Payne told Matt the problems he was having with his prosthesis. “So Matt got me a C-Leg^®, and that’s what I’ve been using ever since,” said Payne. “With Matt, because he is an amputee, he can automatically relate to what I’m talking about and immediately come back with suggestions. I just feel like it is easier to tell him what I’m going through because of his first-hand knowledge.” Payne also uses a seal-in suction socket with his prosthesis.

Payne has been a patient of Bulow BioTech since Jan. 2009. “There’s actually a place much closer to my house,” said Payne. “But I had such a great experience with Bulow BioTech, I keep going to them even though they are 40 minutes away.”