Cheryl Coletti

April 17th, 2017 was the day I took my last walk. I was walking home and a drunk on a motorcycle crashed into me. My leg was nearly completely severed right there. It was a gruesome injury. Fortunately, I have no memory of the event as my head hit the pavement. I also had my two dogs walking with me and they were both injured. Life is different now.

I woke up in the hospital and was told that my leg was gone. I asked about my dogs and learned that they both survived. I stayed in the hospital for a week and then was sent to a rehabilitation center. There, I learned to walk with one leg and a walker. I was constantly visiting with my family and friends. I had so much love and support, I was determined to do my best to master walking and transfers. I wanted desperately to go home and have things go back to at least nearly normal.

I received my first leg with a suction socket. I never felt secure, as it would fall off of my residual limb. One evening, when I was out for dinner with friends, it actually fell off at the restaurant under the table. After a few months, I fell and broke my foot in four places. That put me out of commission for six months. An amputee friend shared that his suction socket had also fallen off, which led to a broken back. I lost faith in my prosthetic leg, and I was afraid to wear it.

That’s when I reached out to South Beach Prosthetics. My new prosthetic leg from South Beach Prosthetics fits well and I don’t have to worry about losing it, because it’s got a pin and lock that keeps it on and secure. I really haven’t had much therapy with this one because I already had the basics down. South Beach Prosthetics’s team would visit me often to make sure everything was going well. With my new leg from South Beach Prosthetics, I’m able to walk, although I still use a walker (as I did before with the suction socket prosthesis). I’m now able to stand without support, though!

South Beach Prosthetics has an office nearby and I’m able to visit whenever I want to walk without my walker, using the parallel bars. I was recently hospitalized and ended up back in rehabilitation, and walked every day with a physical therapist, increasing my distance! I’m home now and walk every day. I live alone and cherish my independence, and I am thankful for the time and effort put forth by South Beach Prosthetics’s staff. They are very communicative and supportive. I’m looking forward to increasing my walking distance and, one day, even walk without the need for a walker. I feel like with the loving support from my friends and family and the support I receive from South Beach Prosthetics, I will meet my goals. Life is good now, and keeps getting better!