Louis Spencer

“This didn’t happen from being a 22-year veteran of the Army, it came from a terrible habit of smoking cigarettes.” This is how Louis Spencer answered the inevitable question as to how he lost his leg. 

The retired dispatcher/911 operator from Blanchfield Army Community Hospital in Fort Campbell, Ky., makes no bones about it. His cigarette addiction gave him vascular disease that led to tissue dying in his left leg, which required amputation for survival.

When Spencer first lost his leg in 2000, he started going to a physical therapist assistant by the name of Scott Moore.  They developed a unique relationship and tried to keep in touch. In fact, Moore reconnected with Spencer in 2007 when he became a certified prosthetist at Bulow BioTech Prosthetics suggesting some new options for his friend and former patient. “Taking off my leg used to be the only thing I could think about,” Spencer said. “It was heavy and quite uncomfortable and if it wasn’t for Scottie, I would still be wearing that old thing.”

Spencer wanted to live the most active, full life possible, and a couple of years ago that became a lot easier when he got a new prosthetic leg from Bulow BioTech in Clarksville. Spencer worked with both Matt Bulow and Moore to get his Otto Bock® C-Leg® properly fitted.

Spencer laughed as he explained that it has to be plugged in to recharge every night next to his cell phone, but says the C-Leg is fast and easy to use. “It’s not a job walking with it,” Spencer said. “With my old leg I always had to have my eyes down. With this leg, I don’t have to guard it as much. I can even go down stairs, hills and ramps without holding onto anything and without fear of falling down.”

A microprocessor incorporated into the knee of the C-Leg records 50 readings per second and immediately adjusts the valves of the hydraulic system. The result, the mechanical knee can anticipate the next move and make adjustments to ensure safe, stable and secure steps.

In addition to giving amputees renewed confidence in each step, it has the potential to allow them to return to activities they gave up when they lost a limb. Not long after getting his C-Leg, Spencer was able to take his wife Joyce on a trip to Atlanta to see the Braves play at Turner Field. That is one of their favorite things to do.

“I don’t like to think ‘why me,’ but I was afraid of the impact loosing my leg would have on my life,” said Spencer. “The guys at Bulow went above and beyond my expectations to find the best technology returning my life to normalcy.”

Spencer added that the most important part of being an amputee is having a prosthetist that you can trust and have a long-term relationship with. He found that in Scott Moore. “He is not only personable and helpful, but he has always been there for me when I’ve needed him. For that, I consider him a great friend.”