When you walk into the Kemna family's living room and see two kids giggling and joking while they play the latest video game, you can tell this family appreciates the good times. Just last year these moments were few and far between for 8-year old triplets, Ross, Ryan and Raena.
"He went through a big sickness and he is my dad," recalled Ross.
The triplets' father, Rick Kemna, lay in a hospital bed with an extreme case of strep throat. The bacteria exploded inside his body, making him deathly ill. Wife Jill recalled many hours of prayers.
"I kept reminding God he gave us triplets, I can't do this without him," wife Jill Kemna said.
Rick would survive, but the bacteria that had raged through his body, still won part of the battle. It cut off the circulation to his legs, forcing surgeons to amputate both. Rick remembers the first time he was aware of what had happened.
"They had me in a drug induced coma for six weeks," he recalls, "and I was awakened to find out they were both missing."
Despite the devastating loss of his limbs, Kemna says he didn't spend as much time thinking about it as one might expect. Perhaps it's because within months of coming home from the hospital, doctors fitted him with two artificial limbs that are anything but ordinary, as wife Jill was quick to notice.
"There used to be that old television show the Six Million Dollar Man; he is our Six Million Dollar Daddy" she said.
Rick's son, Ryan, agrees.
"For one thing that is really going to be cool, there are going to be computers in his legs," Ryan said.
The artificial limbs, called "C"-Legs," are revolutionizing the way amputees live. The legs actually do carry computer chips in the knees that are designed to prevent falls, which can be common for amputees. Think about how a real knee works. The muscles around it are constantly flexing and extending to allow the knee to move and create stability. "C-Leg" acts the same way, with microprocessors adjusting the resistance fifty times each second.
"So if you think about a humming bird flying and you think of their wings flapping, that's about how fast the C-Leg is making decisions," said Byron Backus, a Clinical Specialist for Otto Bock, the German company that makes the limbs.
Much of the maintenance on the devices happens in the company's American headquarters, based in Plymouth, Minnesota.
The computer technology in the C-Leg is programmed specifically for the user to walk, but it can do so much more, according to Backus.
"Confidently picking up a young child and carefully carrying a young child without falling for a lot of people is a huge thing," Backus said.
Aaron Holm is another local Dad using a set of the bionic limbs. Holm lost his legs a little more than two years ago while he and a co-worker were changing a tire on Interstate 394. A car rear-ended Holm's vehicle on the side of the freeway, pinning Holm between his co-workers' car and his vehicle. He lost one of his legs at the scene and later doctors had to amputate the other. But he hasn't let his disability stop him from doing the things he loves, like spending a few hours at a golf driving range, brushing up his stroke off the tee.
"I don't think I could do it with a different leg," Aaron admitted. A lot of legs are basically a hinge and I am putting pressure on these and the computer is feeling that pressure and locking up so it is allowing me to throw myself."
In June, Holm played in his first tournament since the accident, at Stonebrook. His strong will helped him get there, as well as those two high tech pieces of equipment. Now, Holm walks to the bus stop to get his kids, walks stairs, ramps and even floor hocking the basement with his kids.
But while Aaron is getting along great with the legs, Rick Kemna is just starting therapy to help him adjust to the C-Legs.
"It is not as easy as the first time around," Rick said, referring to learning how to walk again.
Bob Tillges is the Prosthetist who helps people learn how to use their artificial limbs. He says Ricks is just the beginning a long and challenging journey.
"His ability to get from point A to point B is fifty times harder than it would be for you and me."
Slow and deliberate steps will eventually lead Rick back to his favorite past times.
"I would just like to go for a walk in the woods, go hunting," he said.
It's that type of determination that gets all amputees where they want to go in whatever mode they choose, and C-Legs are helping them get there.
"Wiggle Your Toes" is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to helping Amputees and their families regain independence and mobility. Aaron Holm and Rick Kemna work on the site together to help other individuals who suffer limb loss in their recovery and rehabilitation efforts through consultation, planning and referrals.
The first ever Wiggle Your Toes golf tournament is Monday June 22, 2008 at Minnesota Valley CC in Bloomington. Look to the Wiggle your Toes web site for more info.
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