Staff Sgt. Heath Calhoun Story

Staff Sgt. Heath Calhoun was serving as a squad leader with the 101st Airborne division in Mosul Iraq. His unit was attacked and an RPG exploded at the rear of the truck where he was standing. The blast amputated both legs above the knees. He struggled for almost 3 years to learn how to walk. After being fit by Hanger, he has not used a wheelchair since July 5, 2006.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• amputee
• prosthesis
• prosthetic
• C-Leg
• soldier
• Heath
• Calhoun
• www.hanger.com

[umanfire]

which feet you use?

[HangerOrthopedic]

@umanfire Staff Sgt. Calhoun is using the Otto Bock Axtion 1E56 feet.

[autowagon]

what knee units is he running with at 1.57? How do his sockets retain suction when he is swimming? Are those flipper things available to buy or were they just custom made things? I am an AK amputee.

[HangerOrthopedic]

@autowagon Heath is using the Otto Bock 3R95 knees and Otto Bock Sprinter feet for running. The sockets Heath uses are the Hanger ComfortFlex sockets using a direct skin fit vacuum suction suspension. He does not use any silicone liners, just direct end bearing total contact. They stay on because of the amount of surface area contained inside of the socket and the way they are fit. He uses the active ankle foot for swimming, it is available. Good luck!

[yaucox100pre]

Hello, loved the video and i actually have an amputation above knee, but one of my #1 goal is to use my C-Leg and drive my manual transmission car like before i had my accident. Now i see it could happen, thanks to your ins-pairing video, but i would also like to know... in what mode do you put your beeper to push the clutch?. Can u give me some tips, ?

[HangerOrthopedic]

@yaucox100pre The knee is setup in the second program mode to limit how much the knee will bend so it does not collapse to the floor of the car. Each person must have their second mode custom set for their needs. That will have to be setup by the prosthetist.

[jab1251]

Pleasure serving with you SSGT Calhoun...

[emjigs]

this video should be every where when talking about ppl with a disability . great video great!! very good things to look at to motivate ppl in hes situation. Great video thanx for posting it.

[dardofilipe]

um grande exemplo... I just loved this video . I have a amputation above the knee at the right leg , lost it in a accident. this is a exemple that you can go on , just keep trying..

[brtmrk]

Thank you for your video and thank you for serving our country.

I woke 5:00 this morning filled with sadness and doubt...someone had posted your video and i am ashamed even if it was only for a few moments that I had felt hopeless and discouraged about circumstances.

Thank you so much!