“Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”

I heard this saying before but never gave it much thought until a fateful summer day in 2002.

I was working on setting up an Intelligent Transport System highway work zone on I-94 in Detroit, Michigan, when a motorist driving at 80 mph crashed into me. The accident caused me to have bilateral below-knee amputations, and unfortunately, one of my coworkers lost their life at the crash site.

Currently, I am using an elevated vacuum prosthesis to maintain the functionality of my prosthetic limbs. However, I have noticed that my suspension sleeves to hold the prosthesis in place wear out quickly. I have had instances where I had to purchase a new sleeve only to experience vacuum loss on the same day. Even the slightest vacuum loss forces me to buy another expensive sleeve, which costs around $200 per replacement.

To solve this costly problem, I developed SleevSaver, an adhesion repair product that comes in meter-long rolls that can be custom-cut for spot repairs or to fit the socket rim of a prosthesis. By using SleevSaver, I have increased the life of my sleeve by five times and saved $3,500.

I launched SleevSaver on August 1, 2019, partnering with SPS to offer it to O&P clinics nationwide. I’m proud that countless people have benefitted from using SleevSaver, and every amputee swears by it.