Back to Patient Stories page

“Some people might say I got a raw deal in life. I think the raw deal would have been born without legs and not have Fidelity Orthopedic around to make my life normal."

These heartfelt words were part of letters sent to Paul Murka and his father, Heinz Murka, by their long-time patient, Craig Lyon. Paul and Heinz received their letters from Craig several months after he was fit with his new Otto Bock C-Legs™. Craig’s story is a lesson for us all in the triumph of the human spirit.

Craig was born in 1950 with a congenital malformation of both legs and he began seeing Heinz for prosthetic care as a toddler. Naturally this little patient became a favorite at Fidelity Orthopedic.

Both Heinz and Paul agree that the guidance and encouragement Craig received from his parents instilled in him the “can-do” attitude Craig has served him all his life.

Craig’s impairment did not keep him sidelined in grade school, high school and college. Craig has been a physical education teacher for 35 years; he currently teaches in the Beavercreek School System.

Through his 57 years of wearing prostheses, Craig has seen many changes in the field. Each device was an improvement over the previous one; each prosthesis seemed to be state-of-the-art.

As a physical education teacher, Craig was a good candidate for a microprocessor controlled knee mechanism (C-Leg™).

• While he is moving gym equipment around during classes, the knee can be set in any fluid motion between 7 to 70 of flexion.

• As his is often walking on uneven terrain while instructing, the knee has an active stumble control feature so he canquickly react to prevent falling.

• Craig has to actively demonstrate movements to the class; the knee function can be set for certain activities remotely as well. Ex: set each knee independently in any fixed position if needed for a longer period of time; this second additional mode is for special activities other than walking.

• When navigating the stairs in the school building, the microprocessor knee allows step-over-step decent and assent.

• The ease of Craig’s day-to-day activities are increased significantly. After a sixteen to eighteen hour day of wearing the prostheses, he is not as fatigued as he was. He has more energy and stamina. Also, he is walking using his natural gait – one smooth, fluid motion.

While all these facts and scientific data are interesting, we think Craig says it best in his letter to Paul.

”Dear Paul,

I’m sorry it has taken me so long to send you this letter. Once again, Fidelity Orthopedic came through for me in my time of need. These new C-legs that I am wearing are absolutely wonderful. Hilmo was wonderful to work with. As a matter of fact, he reminds me a lot of your dad – the way he make this little adjustment and then another so that the fit is just right.

My family and friends mentioned to me several times how much better I look and walk since I got these prostheses. My mom and dad would have approved. I wish they could have seen me walking on them, but they both passed away in 2006.

Some people might say I got a raw deal in life. I think that the raw deal would have been born without legs and not have Fidelity Orthopedic around to make my life normal.

For everything you and your dad have done for me in the past 57 years, I am forever grateful.

Sincerely,

Craig Lyon"