Robotic leg helps Veteran ‘feel’ amputated foot

A Veteran “felt” his amputated foot when he was fitted with a prototype robotic prosthetic limb.

John Wade, or Big John, as he is known to his fellow Veterans, also goes by his own self-proclaimed nickname, John the Cyborg. Wade, an Army Veteran who receives his care at Cleveland VA, served from 1991-1998 and again from 2004-12.

In August 2018, Wade was driving a semi and its brakes went out. He went off the road to avoid crushing cars in his path. Seven weeks later, he regained consciousness and discovered he was missing his left leg below the knee. Four serious suicide attempts later, he began to practice self-love and decided he needed either to “be busy dying or be busy living.”

Wade was at the VA medical center when he was interviewed by a researcher who was developing an experimental surgery for amputees. Fast forward to November 2022 when Wade was implanted with 64 electrodes in his left thigh. The hope is that the electrodes would pick up his brain’s electrical signals for foot movement.

Research for prosthetic limb his brain can control

The experimental research is being conducted by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Case Western University in conjunction with Cleveland VA. Eventually, Ward will receive a robotic prosthetic limb that his brain can control.

In February he had the opportunity to test a prototype that plugs into the electrodes, and for the first time in five years he experienced the feeling of his foot hitting the ground.

“It brought tears to the eyes of everyone in the room,” he said, with a catch in his voice. ”My brain remembered the feeling and I was able to begin walking normally again.” Another benefit for Ward was relief from often debilitating “phantom limb pain.”

While his robotic leg is being developed, Wade participated at the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic held in Snowmass, Colorado, by VA and Disabled American Veterans (DAV).

While there, he tried out another type of prosthetic, a G-3 Infinity Knee specifically designed for sports like skiing. “I’m just so grateful to have these opportunities. I can’t say enough about the rock stars at the Cleveland VA who support me,” he said.