My name is Matt McCluskey, and I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. I was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a malignant cancerous bone tumor that affects children, at the young age of 14 years old. The diagnosis resulted in a left leg below-knee amputation. The doctors wanted me to go through a year of chemotherapy after the amputation “just in case”.
As time passed, I enjoyed my high school years and went off to college. I got married to the love of my life Allison, and we now have two children together, Molly and Keller. In 2008, I moved to The Mid-Atlantic to work for W. L. Gore & Associates in Elkton, Maryland. That same year I needed a new cycling-specific leg since the one I had been wearing was overused and didn’t fit anymore, so I did my research for a new prosthetist since I was new in the region and came across Real Life Prosthetics™ .
I met with Jonas and described to him what I wanted and what new things we should do. As I have been an amputee for over 20 years, I knew what I wanted, what worked, and what did not. Jonas was really good at making what I needed for cycling, a leg that would work for me both for road cycling and mountain bike riding/racing. After another year of riding on the leg, Jonas wanted to build another, more aerodynamic cycling leg that would stand out and get attention. After six months of trial sockets and test rides, I had another riding leg that did get attention and comments, such as “cool” and “awesome”, while I was on the road and trail. After 13 years of using an “everyday leg”, Jonas and the team at Real Life Prosthetics™ did a great job setting me up with another great prosthetic that was more comfortable.
Today, I reside in Cochranville, Pennsylvania, and continue to ride all the time. I bike-commute to work a lot, exceeding 4,000 miles in 2011. I usually try to ride around 50-75 miles on Sundays, either road or mountain, along with group rides during the week after work. I have done some big mountain bike rides like the Shenandoah 100 MTB (SM100) race in 2010 and 2011, and The Baker’s Dozen 13-hour Endurance race in Virginia in 2009, 2010, and winning 1st place in 2012. This year, I am on track to pass my all-time annual mileage of 5,300 miles in 2011, to almost 7,000 in 2012. If it wasn’t for Jonas and his team at Real Life Prosthetics™ , I would not be able to continue riding and live a comfortable life with my family.
At 32 years of age I became a below the knee amputee. My story is not like most. I don’t have a disease that results in limb loss, nor was I in an accident. My amputation is a result of a high school basketball injury.
I broke my right ankle when I was a freshman. The break was hidden behind another bone in my leg, and without today’s technology it went unnoticed. I was told that I did a great deal of tendon damage, which would take a long time to heal. My ankle was put in a cast.
I was young, competitive and looking for an athletic scholarship. I didn’t listen to my body and played even though I was in pain. If I only knew then, what I know now. Within a year of the injury I had my ankle reconstructed. I did exactly what the doctors told me, but the reconstruction failed, and I was faced with another surgery in less than a year. In fact, I went through the trauma of 17 surgeries over 17 years.
On January 31, 2003, I was given the news that I needed yet another operation to repair my ankle replacement, but that the odds of achieving a satisfactory recovery were not good. My other option was to have my leg amputated.
I was devastated. All of these long, painful years were a result of a high school sports injury. I remember thinking, “This was not supposed to turn out like this.”
I researched and weighed my options very carefully and decided I would go with the amputation. This was a life changing and difficult decision for my family and for me, but I have no regrets! I believed in God, myself, my husband, my children, my family and friends. I knew I would get through this, and I would make something positive come from all of it.
I had the surgery on February 12, 2003. My husband and I met Jonas Seeberg at Real Life Prosthetics™ the following month. We were greeted as if we were old friends. Everyone there was wonderful to us. By March 27, I was standing with my first prosthetic leg. What an emotional time! I honestly don’t know who was more excited— me, my husband or Jonas!
I returned to my job teaching second grade on April 21, 2003. I used a crutch for about a week. I was amazed, along with my family, friends, colleagues and students, at the progress that I had made. When I had made my decision to have an amputation, I was just hoping to be out of the tremendous pain that I had been in for so many years. I never really thought I would be able to be pain free and walking normally.
Later, when I mentioned that I had been a runner in high school, Jonas asked me, “If we build you a running leg would you run?” I thought it was too good to be true, but I am happy to report that I am now running around seven miles a week!
My life has been restored by Real Life Prosthetics™ . Everyone there encouraged and supported me. They were there to help me with any problems that I had, and they were there to share in my success. I’m a happy wife, mother of three, teacher, runner and amputee. I participate in my family’s active lives! I teach science to 200 students. I walk proud!
I can’t take credit for my success. I am the active, healthy, happy person I am because of my faith in God, my belief in myself, and all of the support from my family, friends and even perfect strangers. Life is what you make it. You can choose to sit around and feel sorry for yourself, or you can become an active participant. My choice is obvious.