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LifestreamVia FARK: Hiker With Bionic Leg Begins Trek
Scott Rogers has begun his 2,168-mile trek along the Appalachian Trail, augmented by the Otto Bock C-Leg. Pretty cool stuff imo.
Otto Bock Orthopedic, the leg’s German manufacturer, and Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, which fitted the leg, are supporting the hike with a solar-powered battery recharger and service along the way.
Rogers lost his left leg below the knee in 1998 when he shot himself while hunting a snake. He learned to water ski and fly an ultralight airplane despite the disability, but chronic pain forced him to quit his job as a paramedic.
Two years ago, the leg had to be re-amputated above the knee and he faced the prospect of having to use a wheelchair before Hanger Prosthetics steered him to the C-Leg.
Hiking eight to 10 miles a day, Rogers hopes by July to reach Harpers Ferry, W.Va., about halfway up the trail. He will get off there and drive to the trail’s end at Mt. Katahdin in Maine. There, he will get back on the trail and head south to the finish.
Hopefully, stunts like this will attract interest to the newborn field of prosthetics. For years people have struggled with clumsy and obsolete designs but now, finally, things are looking up. Within a couple of years, technology should have progressed far enough to seamlessly augment or replace human limbs. The days of dreaming are soon at an end.
