Brooke and I first met Joey the day after Dr. Jeng told him he was out of options. Ankle fusion was the last card in the deck. The last choice he had to get rid of his severe ankle arthritis. Worse, there was no guarantee that the fusion would work. Joey suffered from a rare disease called Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis (PVNS). Over time it destroys the bone and synovial membrane surrounding the joint, leading to debilitating ankle arthritis. Arthroscopic surgery and radiation treatments didn't help.
Over dinner, that night we first met, I told Joey to cut his leg off.
Two weeks ago, Joey cut his leg off. He even made it easier for Dr. Attinger with a new tattoo. You should check out all of his ridiculous pictures. You may have already come across them. The album made the front page of reddit.com earlier this week, and has sense spread to other websites and news outlets.
Joey is still only two weeks into the recovery, but he's doing great. He has an amazing support group in Johnna, his girlfriend, his family, and his friends. We chat regularly about the recovery process. The first year sucks. But on his one year ampuversary, we're going for a run to reflect on our decision. That will be a good day.
A prosthetic design company called UNYQ came across Joey's story and started a crowd funding campaign with Reddit users to raise money for a prosthetic cover for his new leg. With just a few day's left, the campaign is a couple hundred dollars short of meeting the goal of $2,000. If that goal is reached, the company will add in another $2,000.
Joey gave me a call today. He spoke with UNYQ and, if the goal is reached, they will give me a prosthetic cover as well out of the company's matching contributions!
