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No Regrets

WAYNE WEHRHAN, A FARMER from Rockhaven, believes that mobility equals productivity. After his leg was amputated in 1960, Wayne found that “I could do everything I could do on the farm before.” Even so, Wayne hoped there was a better means of getting around than the hand-carved willow wood that was strapped to his body by a harness and suspended from his shoulders. It was this faith in a better way that began his relationship with the Saskatchewan Abilities Council in the late 1960’s.

Using different prostheses throughout the years, Wayne was introduced to innovative technology in 1998 when the Council asked him if he would demonstrate the C-Leg at the Canadian Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists Conference.

During a brief try-out with the C-Leg, he says, laughing, “I just about took off and never came back.”

Designed with active above-knee amputees in mind, the C-Leg has a built-in microprocessor that receives automatic feedback 50 times per second from numerous sensors. In 2004, Wayne decided to purchase a C-Leg of his own, and asked for the Council’s help. Within a few weeks, Wayne had become one of the first people in Saskatchewan to be fitted with the device. “The Council does everything they can to help. As for the C-Leg, I don’t regret a thing!”