The sound of sneakers hitting pavement, the splash of water against a swimmer’s body, the satisfying crack of a golf ball meeting the sweet spot—these moments of athletic achievement aren’t limited by limb difference. Athletes with prosthetics are redefining what’s possible in sports, proving that determination combined with innovative technology can overcome any barrier.
From the time he was a young child who experienced a playground incident that gave him whiplash and a neck injury, Jerry Cronin had also been subject to periods of lower back pain that he took in stride, as a normal part of life. But increasing problems with herniated disks and more frequent bouts of increasingly intense pain through his teens and college years finally brought him, at age 35, to emergency surgery, partial paralysis, and the opportunity to become the youngest individual to try out a state of the art orthotronic solution–-and one that worked beyond his most hopeful expectations!
Kenneth L. Scott, Sgt. USMC Retired, is also a 100% Disabled War Veteran who fought in the Gulf War during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, was stationed in the Philippines during the 1989 Philippine coup, and has completed intense training and missions all over the world. As a result, he has already grappled with a variety of challenges and medical issues, including neurological damage, exposure to NBC (Nuclear Biological and Chemical) warfare and blunt force trauma that resulted in total blindness in his right eye. No stranger to adversity, Scott casually dismisses those trials as “a lot of mini-surgeries—just way too many things to count”—and is enthusiastic about telling a tale of triumph, instead.
