Prostheses far cry from wooden leg (8/8/04)

Prostheses far cry from wooden leg
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Pamela J. Johnson The Orlando Sentinel
1340 Words
08 August 2004
Charleston Gazette
P9D
English
(Copyright 2004)
ORLANDO, Fla. - Every morning, Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Metzdorf straps on a modern-day miracle. "Lead">

He awakens, kisses his wife good morning and reaches for the computerized prosthesis that has been recharging all night. Called a C-Leg, it is 13 pounds of titanium, wires and circuitry. To Metzdorf, it is much more than a substitute for his right leg, blown away by a roadside bomb in Iraq.

The C-Leg has helped restore the confidence of this boisterous 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper. It gives the 27-year-old Florida native a reason to believe during his torturous rehabilitation sessions that he will again be able to climb stairs, hike in the woods, jump from airplanes and take his wife, Teresa, slow-dancing.

Wearing it, he sometimes feels invincible.