FIDF helps Israeli veteran MD run, bike and hike

During the first Lebanon War in 1982, a captain in the elite Shaldag Israeli Air Force commando unit was injured in Syria and lost his right leg from the knee down. He had been an avid bike rider and fast runner. At age 23 he was fitted with an immediate prosthetic leg and had rehabilitation for three weeks.

He applied to medical school. He remained in a non-combat role for a half year and started medical school in September 1983 at Tel Aviv University.

Now a noted plastic surgeon, Dr. Eyal Gur came to Long Island as part of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) Strides Program that provides Israeli amputee veterans with advanced prosthetics to enable sports activity. He currently heads the plastic surgery department at Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center in Tel Aviv. Gur is married and has three children.

Gur’s initial prosthetic leg was an “older generation prosthetic,” he said, “solid bulk with no dynamics.” The newer ones allowed some running “but not true running for long distance. The new prosthetic fitted to me has no high tech electronics but the materials are a super strong carbon fiber substance that serves as a bouncing spring and shock absorber that pushes you forward for fast motion. It looks like a deer foot; it’s fast and springy (It looks like a metal spatula).”

He spent days here trying to “find the right angle and right vectors to act on the pedal” of the bicycle and uses special shoes with clips that fasten on to the pedals. Through this program, he was fitted with three different legs. “They are available only in the last several years, but you could not get them in Israel. The Strides Project by FIDF promoted and donated not just the trip, the stay and three prosthesis for each of the disabled veterans but also invests in qualifying a same institute in Israel to be able and manufacture such legs to the rest of Israelis that wish to improve their sport activity, life style and health. I have received here a third – walking/daily use leg which is advanced and dynamic as well. They are training the Israeli workshop to support them in the coming years and then start and fit those legs.”

Eight disabled veterans participated in the project last year and nine will get the prosthesis this year. Gur noted that the need for prosthesis is proportional here and in Israel in young survivors of car accidents, war, or terrorist attacks, such as in Boston. In Israel, the IDF supports the amputee soldier; civilians will get prosthesis through the government or Kupat Cholim (Israeli HMOs). Gur was fitted for running, biking and daily use legs.

“The prosthesis is custom made specifically for each amputee,” explained Gur. “At the day of my arrival here, they took measurements and in three hours the first walking leg was ready. Two hours later the running leg was there and (I) ran 100 meters. By the third day, the biking--which is the more complex one--was ready and I have cycled. At each day, apart of the measurements and fitting process that was occasionally painful, there was full support from the team in terms of my physical needs (physiotherapy, mental support), running trainer, biking trainer, etc… By the last day I was able to hike in complex terrain, run three miles and bike off road for longer distances. They are totally efficient and warm in A Step Ahead which is the name of the institute.”

His prosthesis was provided by the FIDF Strides Program. It provides wounded IDF veterans with special prosthetics for athletics, focusing on leg amputees, and brings groups of veterans together to participate as a group in running, bike riding and other sports activities. It instills in them new confidence and joy of living and physical activity. The program partnered with A Step Ahead Prosthetics & Orthotics in Hicksville, Long Island. A Step Ahead also has branches in Boston and Haifa. The stated goal of A Step Ahead is to give patients the tools, information, and resources necessary to allow them to achieve their goals. They provide healthcare, advocacy, and educational services to help patients live life without limitations. They design and fit customized prostheses for patients of all ages and functional levels and coordinate the patient’s rehabilitation with their physician and other members of the rehabilitation team.

Gur’s goal is to complete a 10K run, improve his off road biking skills, and continue as head of the plastic surgery department while allowing more time “for improving my physical condition,” he said.

At times he is called upon to combine his experience with his artificial leg with his work in plastic surgery. “In many times I am called by the orthopedic surgeon to support and help decide whether a young patient involved with a MVA (motor vehicle accident) is a candidate for extremity salvage or amputation. This is a very emotional scenario for me where I am trying to stay professional but know which obstacles the guy will have to go through if he loses his leg or in contrast if we salvaged the limb but it is chronically injured and painful where a sport prosthesis may give him a better quality of life.”

Established in 1981 by Holocaust survivors, FIDF cares and provides for the men and women of the IDF and families of fallen soldiers. FIDF facilitates and supports educational, social, cultural and recreational programs for members of the IDF. The Long Island Chapter of FIDF will be holding its 2nd Annual Five Towns and Greater South Shore Community Event on May 22nd at The Sephardic Temple. For more information go to www.fidf.org/FTGSS.