When I was born, the doctors told my parents that there wasn’t anything they could do to help “fix” my condition, that I would probably never run, but just do the best they could to raise me like any other kid. Fast forward 20 or so years later when I became interested in triathlons and realized I would have to run if I was going to be serious about this sport. I was fit with my first running prosthesis at the age of 28 and was learning for the first time how to propel myself forward in this motion that felt like jumping and falling all at once. It was awkward and exhausting but I never felt so much excitement. For years, I pushed myself to overcome the limitations of my right leg and make the prosthesis work for me. I did the best with what I had and had some pretty good successes along the way, but always felt I had more in me that never translated to my prosthesis.

Being a prosthetic user who was born with a birth defect presents some interesting challenges for the fit of my prosthesis. I don’t have a “typical” presentation of an amputee and so my socket has never been standard. It takes a special prosthetist who is willing to work outside the box and find what will work with the anatomy that I have. I was born without a femur or fibula and a malformed hip joint. While I used to think I was the only person with this condition, I’ve come to meet many others who were born with similar presentations. Some have had their foot amputated to make the fit of their prosthesis more cosmetic, but I still have my foot and am grateful for the function it provides. All this, however, makes for a unique prosthetic setup as well as a unique running gait.

I would watch other amputees run gracefully on their prostheses. I knew I had limitations knowing my affected limb was an awkward length and my weak hip musculature made it difficult to power a stride. I tried modifying my prosthesis the best way I could to optimize my fit but felt a disconnect in what I was putting in with what I was getting out. I began to accept it as the best I could get with the leg I had and I would just have to train harder. My competition seemed to make faster times in the run year after year, while I could see only small gains in my own run. It was frustrating and humbling to believe this was as good as it gets.

Recently, our own Lindsey Jerdonek from USA Triathlon and coach Mark Sortino put together a prosthetic clinic at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, inviting prosthetists from around the country to help analyze our running performance and provide prosthetic design advice. There was a protocol in place with an exercise physiologist to measure different running parameters so that we had objective data to work with. It was an enlightening opportunity to have different sets of eyes observe and provide fresh ideas while also gathering tangible data that helped pinpoint weaknesses in my gait. It felt like being in one of those talent shows where the judges and experts would give their feedback to the artists at the end of their performances. I came away from the experience with a new perspective from a prosthetist who came all the way from Chicago, Davide Rotter was willing to work with me to design a whole new approach. It was a commitment to travel across the country to his clinic afterwards to continue working with him on something that requires frequent adjustments, but the time and money invested was well worth it. I have never felt this connected to my running prosthesis and am seeing huge gains in my training so far. It has been so exciting to experience this exponential improvement with something that I had almost given up on. This process is far from being done; I have to fly back again to Chicago and work with my prosthetist on version 2.0 before heading to the Test Event for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris later this year. However, it has been a leap forward that I am so grateful to take.

Thank you to everyone who made this camp a successful experience, and special thanks to Brian Tolsma and Melissa Stockwell for letting us use their lab. I am realizing how important it is to keep asking questions, to not be afraid to voice concerns, to share problems and ideas, and most importantly, to be open-minded and flexible to hear when someone is offering help. Don’t accept the status quo, don’t accept your pain point. There is always a way.