David Field – Transfemoral Amputee

It was in Toronto Canada when at the age of 28 it was discovered that I had bone cancer in my left leg. My wife and I had emigrated from Sydney 7 weeks earlier to take up employment in Canada.

After an operation and 5 months of non weight bearing, the tumour returned and my left leg was amputated through the knee at the Toronto East General Hospital on September 25 1970. Due to the Vietnam War and the large number of young men who returned to North America as amputees, post operative techniques were the best in the world at that time and I was up and back to work 3 weeks after having my leg amputated. Subsequently we returned to Australia 5 years later after leaving a little bit of myself in Canada.

In 1976 I needed a new artificial leg due to stump changes and went to RALAC in Blues Point where my first Australian leg was made. In 1979 I returned to RALAC and again due to stump changes a new artificial leg was made. At the time I met Richard Curby who had just started as an apprentice and since then have followed him and his skills wherever he went.

Richard Curby is a dedicated leg maker, he is a ‘master technician’, someone who cares about the patient and goes out of his way to get things just right. In times when 75% of making an artificial leg come ‘off the shelf’ and is fitted with an ‘Allen key’ that final 25% requires great skill, the socket must fit exactly, and that is where Richard Curby excels. His ability to get the right socket fit together with his skill in recommending the right mixture of knee, ankle and foot make him a true expert.

He and his crew at APC are as good as anybody in the world, I have had ‘leg’ problems while travelling in France, Canada and the USA and they just don’t make the cut when compared with Richard and the APC crew.

DAVID FIELD
April 2008