On Feb 12th of this year Marijo and I had the privilege to visit the Ottobock USA Head Office in Austin, Texas. We were there on an invite to see their facility as well as to have the opportunity to speak to their employees about our story. Although Marijo and I enjoy sharing our story, it was particularly rewarding to share with the very people who are behind allowing me the opportunity to set goals for myself and achieve a sense of independence.

Ottobock is the company that manufactures my prosthetics legs & feet that allow me not only to stand, but to enter into long distance events like the Ottawa 1/2 marathon that I completed this past September. I came in dead last but I felt like a winner!

The beauty of this gang was they were not the folks that actually made prosthetics.  They were Management, Marketing, Accounting, Customer Service and HR – all the in behind the scene employees. It was enlightening to be able to share with them how they touch peoples lives. The thrust of my speech for this audience was that I wanted them to know that even though they think they manufacture arms and legs, what they really do is provide confidence, hope and independence. I felt it was also important for them to know that improving fit and comfort of our prosthetics is an area that needs research and development and to keep the avenues of communication open between them, the prosthetist and the end user.

At the end of the speech many questions were asked.We received many compliments by such warm, kind caring people. I think they were touched to have heard how what they do each day directly affected people like me.

Ottobock has a huge wall of signatures of which I was proud that Marijo and I got to sign.