Read Christopher’s Story

Hello, my name is Christopher Rains. I am a right leg knee disarticulation amputee who also has foot drop on my left leg, both from the same incident.

On 4-8-15, I was driving a cab over truck and had a tangle with an 18-wheeler on the interstate while on the job. On my left leg, my knee cap was pushed all the way over, which tore ligaments. On my hip, the ball went through the socket, so I now have plates and screws in my hip.

Due to all of that, I have a lot of nerve damage that caused foot drop. My right leg was pretty much cut off in the accident, but the artery got pinned, which kept me from bleeding to death. I gained a good bit of weight after my accident due to sitting in a wheelchair, letting my injuries heal, and also having a bad diet.

After struggling mentally with my situation for a few years, I decided to try the gym to see if it would help me clear my head, lose weight, build muscle, and gain confidence.

After hating it at first, but being willing to keep trying, it did all of the above for me. I also changed my diet because I thought to myself, if I am truly going to put the work in, I want to do it completely. Little did I know that going to the gym would start my physically active lifestyle, which is completely different from how I was living pre-injuries.

I wasn't into sports or the gym beforehand, but now I enjoy Sled Hockey, Hand-cycling, and more.

My injuries have led me to meet some of the most amazing people and go to some of the most amazing places within the Orthotics and Prosthetics community. From going to Ecuador to Climb Cotopaxi with The Range of Motion Project to raise money for the prosthetics of Ecuadorian amputees to working with OTWorld in Leipzig, Germany, with the wonderful people of TurboMed.

It's all been a blessing when I look at the big picture and don't focus on the small setbacks that pop up from time to time. Thank you for reading my story! -Chris Rains