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Amputation Renews Zest for Life
By Joan Bennett A seemingly innocuous accident at work in 1997
changed 53-year-old George Hinckley's life. A fire at the Gillette
plant in Boston, Massachusetts, brought the manufacturing manager
into work after hours. Coming in from his boat, the burly 6'3"
Hinckley was dressed in shorts and boat shoes when he was assessing
the source of the fire with firefighters. With a breathing
apparatus throwing off his balance, he slipped on water and fell,
severely tearing the ligaments in his right leg.
Surgery following earlier basketball and bike riding injuries
had weakened his knee. After the accident and a series of
operations and knee replacements, the knee never fully healed. The
pain became so bad, Hinckley lived on morphine and
OxyContin®.
In 2001, tired of the pain and his lack of mobility, he searched
for options. His choices were amputation or having his knee fused
with pins. The surgeons recommended fusion, which Hinckley says has
a 50-percent success rate but takes six months before the outcome
is known.
A Corvette enthusiast, Hinckley asked how he could drive a car
with a fused right knee. How could he sit in an airplane or a movie
theater? The surgeons had no good answers. Hinckley chose
amputation.
"It's hard for surgeons to realize that amputation can improve
the quality of life for some people," says Hinckley.
Off Medications
 On July 1, 2001, he had a knee disarticulation
amputation. A prosthetist had recommended amputating a couple
inches above Hinckley's knee for a better prosthetic fit, but the
surgeon ignored the recommendation, making prosthetic alignment
with Hinckley's left knee more challenging.
Just days after the surgery, Hinckley stopped the pain
medication. Not realizing how the medications had affected his
personality, he was surprised when his older son, Christopher, told
him, "It's really great to have you back, Dad."
Because of scar tissue from all the operations, it took nearly
six months before Hinckley's residual limb healed enough to be fit
with a prosthesis. After five months with his prosthesis, he
complained to his prosthetist about the fit of his new limb, which
he had a hard time keeping on. He didn't even feel secure enough to
walk across the room while holding Andrew, his new grandson.
The prosthetist's response was, "You're just too darn tall to be
an amputee. This fit is the best you're going to get." Hinckley
didn't believe it. Instead, he did a lot of research and started
talking to as many amputees as he could to find a new
prosthetist.
New Prosthesis Makes the Difference
The name Peter Couture, CP, president and clinical director of
Next Step Orthotics and Prosthetics, Manchester, New Hampshire,
kept coming up, so Hinckley drove the 50 miles to interview him.
"His first question to me," says Hinckley, "was, What do you want
to do with your prosthesis?' I told him I wanted to climb a
ladder." Couture told him that shouldn't be a problem.
After being fit with a computerized Otto Bock C-Leg® and
undergoing a series of adjustments, Hinckley says, "I noticed the
difference right away. The leg gives me a lot of confidence because
it doesn't have the giving-away motion." The first year, when he
had the older-style prosthesis that didn't have the control of the
C-Leg, he damaged his sound leg.
In September 2002, Hinckley took early retirement from Gillette
after 30 years and job restructuring. Since then, he has been
climbing extension ladders at Christopher's house, helping him put
in new windows, re-side the house, and paint. He is also enjoying
biking again with his wife, Maria. Before his accident, he used to
ride 200 to 300 miles a week for exercise.
Now, he is trying to make up for the five years he lost after
his accident. He volunteers his time, talking with amputees
referred to him by physicians and participating in amputee research
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge. He's
also shopping for another Corvette.
When asked how he adjusts his C-Leg to accommodate all his
activities, he demonstrates the basic walking mode, describes how
he steps on his toe three times to switch into lock mode for
climbing ladders, and then moves into free-swing mode for riding a
bike. He says the leg has an infinite number of adjustments between
flexion and extension.
He notes that Next Step made adjustments to his leg and put in
certain components so he can fit comfortably in his Corvette. "A
lot of people think they just bolt the components together," he
says, "but it's really how they fit the socket that makes the
difference." As a result of all his activities in the amputee
world, Hinckley has decided to pursue training and a second career
as a prosthetic technician.
In thinking about the activities he still wants to do, he adds,
"I'm still striving. I would like to do better--have my leg become
more natural. But it becomes less of an issue every day." And he
can't wait until little Andrew is old enough to be strapped into
the Corvette beside him, so they can head off for an adventure. 
Table Of Contents - June 2004
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