Jim Harris

Diagnosed with diabetes since 1987, Jim Harris is no stranger to illness. In 2001, kidney failure caused him to be put on dialysis. So in 2005 when he went to the hospital for a lesion on his right toe that would not heal, he thought he was just going to have therapy for an infection.

“When the infection would not go away, doctors decided to amputate a couple of my toes,” said Jim. “When it did not heal, they amputated the rest of my toes on my right foot. It still would not heal, so they amputated up to my foot.”

Still unable to beat the infection, but not wanting to go through more surgeries, Jim told doctors to pick a point in his leg that was not infected and cut. In May 2005, Jim had his right leg amputated.

Unfortunately, gangrene had already set in his left foot. Again, the doctors wanted to cut off a few toes. “I just made up my mind, ‘I’m not going through all that again,’ so I told them to pick out a point on my left leg and cut if off there, too.” In September 2005, Jim became a bilateral below knee amputee.

“The whole time I was in the hospital, I was so sick. I must have taken every antibiotic there ever was trying to get the infection out of me,” remembers Jim. “When you were as sick as I was, you don’t want to think about prostheses, so when I got both of my new prostheses, I thought it was fine.”

Jim was in rehabilitation therapy from December 2005 to March 2006. “When I went through therapy, they just stand you up, and you start walking with a walker,” he explained. “I just thought that was the way it was. No bending, no flexibility; just a foot and a tube with a socket. I did not know anything.”

“After I learned to walk, I tried to walk outside,” said Jim. “Since I could not feel the ground, if it was not level, the prosthesis did not adjust. The ankles did not bend, so I couldn’t go up stairs.”

Unsatisfied with what he had, Jim began to search on the Internet. “I found the Bulow BioTech Prosthetics website, and there was Cheryl Boss’s story, and she had both her legs amputated, too,” stated Jim. “I watched the video showing her walking in the grass. For a bilateral amputee, that was an amazing accomplishment. At the time, I couldn’t walk across grass at all. And it wasn’t just her video, I watched them all.”

Jim called Bulow Biotech to get more information. “They said I could talk to Cheryl Boss and gave me her number. I spoke with her at length about what they did and how they did it.”

Jim flew all the way from Racine, Wisconsin, to Bulow BioTech Prosthetics in Nashville, Tennessee. Brenda Richason, office manager at Bulow BioTech, went out of her way to make sure his visit went as smoothly as possible. Finally at the Bulow BioTech, Jim was fitted with the Flex-Foot Ceterus^® by Ossur^®, which is designed to offer full-length toe lever, simulate ankle motion, proportional response and shock absorption.

“Everything changed from there,” said Jim. “All of the staff were very nice from the moment I got there. The environment at the office just gives you confidence. I met with Matt Bulow, and we talked about what I had gone through and what I wanted to accomplish. Matt showed me the kind of feet they had, and the newest technology. Within a few days, I had my new feet properly fitted and was ready to conquer my first goals.”

Jim’s goals included walking up and down steps naturally and walking on grass just like Cheryl Boss. “I didn’t know much about the Flex-Foot Ceterus when I got them,” said Jim. “As an engineer by trade, I wanted to read everything I could about how they worked. When I learned that I could ride a bike, play basketball and walk on grass, I automatically knew this was right for me. Everything just fell into place.”

Today, he plays basketball and goes to the driving range. He is still working on walking on a golf course, but knows it will come with practice.

A resident of Wisconsin, Jim flies back and forth for appointments and corresponds by phone and e-mail with the Bulow BioTech’s staff for all his needs. “When I need something, I have it within a day,” said Jim. “When people ask me ‘why do you go all the way down there when there are doctors and places close by?’ I tell them, ‘I do what’s best for me.’”