Mary Koch

I have been a quad amputee for almost 10 years. I heard about osseointegration for my lower limbs soon after my amputations, and I was intrigued by the idea. However, having a permanent implant was concerning to me. I also didn't know where I could go to get the surgery done or where I could get prosthetics to use once I had the surgery. I decided to wait to see if prosthetic sockets would work for me. They worked fairly well for about 6 years. I never wore them at home, but they did make going out of the house much easier. I could wear them a few days a week for 6-8 hours at a time. If I tried to do more than that I would start to get skin breakdown. When I did wear them I needed to take plenty of breaks. I could only walk on them for 10-15 minutes at a time without needing to sit down. Standing still was even more difficult. I could usually only tolerate 5-10 minutes standing still. This made things like washing dishes or even changing a diaper difficult. Finally, I got a spot on my left leg that was painful when I walked. I worked with a prosthetist for a year making adjustments and even starting over from scratch with a new mold, but nothing helped the pain. I decided it was time to get osseointegration surgery. Over the years, I had continued to research it and had found that Dr. Rozbruch could perform the surgery in New York.

I had osseointegration surgery in November of 2024. I started taking steps in February 2025. In September 2025 I forced myself to stop using my wheelchair at home. It was a difficult transition mentally, but I knew I was physically capable of it. I never went back!

It is amazing to be without a wheelchair. My day-to-day life is so much different. My youngest is only a year old and is very busy, but I can keep up with him and chase him around the house all day. I can stand at the kitchen sink to do dishes which is much faster than doing it from a seated position in a wheelchair. I can move around our home with ease instead of constantly maneuvering a large wheelchair through tight spaces. I'm excited to be able to use rugs and display my furniture in different ways than I could before. We're even planning to reinstall our kitchen island.

I love that I no longer have to use sockets. They were uncomfortable, and I always felt like my legs were being squeezed. I would have to sit down and remove my sockets many times throughout the day to relieve the pressure. Now I can go long stretches without needing to sit down. This makes going to the park or attending outdoor activities much easier. I even went to an amusement park with my family. They ran out of ECV rentals, so I was forced to walk throughout the park for the entire day. My legs held up great!

Osseointegration has also increased my core strength. Now that I have been up and walking, I find that I can pick up and hold my toddler while standing. I never used to bend down and pick him up. Even if someone handed him to me, I could only hold him for a few seconds before my back would start to hurt. Now I can hold him for a few minutes at a time.

I'm also very happy with how easily I can put on/remove my prosthetics. It used to take me 15-20 minutes to roll my liners on before stepping into the sockets. Now, I can put my prosthetics on in just a few seconds.