Monday, June 12, 2000 | 11:41 a.m.
Jaci Phinney got married, went through her pregnancy and spent a year caring for her child while using crutches to compensate for the lack of one leg.
She sought help in getting a new prosthetic leg only after she realized that mothering an energetic 1-year-old required more mobility than crutches could provide.
"If, God forbid, anything happened to him that I could have prevented, I couldn't forgive myself," the 22-year-old said last week.
Her son, Matthew, also would have walked earlier if she could have shown him how, she said. With a mother on crutches and a father in a wheelchair, he didn't have a parent to imitate. Matthew does hold his bottle with his feet sometimes, mirroring his mother's foot dexterity.
When Craig Gavras heard Jaci's story he decided his Limbs for Life Foundation should help.
"We wanted to see her enjoy her child the way we all take for granted," he said. Jaci's mobility was important because her husband, a former police officer, is paralyzed from the ribs down from an on-duty accident, Gavras said.
Gavras, a father of three, helped create Limbs for Life after he lost his leg above the knee while breaking up a brawl as a Dallas police officer. He and his wife wanted to gain something positive out of his loss of a limb.
The foundation helps amputees who are unable to afford limbs, he said. It has provided more than 4,600 prosthetic limbs in 4 1/2 years.
The difference a prosthesis can make is tremendous, Jaci said.
"Now I can carry him around and chase him without having to grab crutches," the young mother said. "I can go to the grocery store and push him in a regular shopping cart." The motorized handicapped carts do not have child seats.
Jaci notes she was not helpless without a prosthesis. She competed on her high school swim team and was not bothered by going out in public without a prosthetic limb. But Matthew changed her needs.
"There's a difference between holding a soda and holding a squirming child," she said.
Jaci has been without the limb for many years. At age 7, she was diagnosed with Ewings sarcoma, a rare but aggressive form of cancer. During 15 months of high doses of chemotherapy, she came so close to death that she received last rites twice.
She credits her older sister with helping her get through the times when she was isolated at home. The chemotherapy drained her immune system to the point at which even a cold could kill her.
After three months of radiation, her cancer was deemed in remission. She went home with a brace on her leg and a warning not to break the leg.
Three months to the day after getting out of the hospital, she took a tumble and snapped the fragile bone. Doctors had to amputate her leg when she was 9 years old.
The Shriners paid for a prosthesis, but it took six failed attempts before she got a good fit that lasted 10 years. In late 1997 surgery on her stump changed it so much she could no longer use that limb.
Gavras heard about Jaci from an e-mail she sent explaining her situation and asking for help. He then contacted Robert Brooks and Gwen Webb of the Prosthetic Center of Excellence in Las Vegas, and provided the funding.
"The average above-knee prosthetic cost $18,000, and it may be a little more for Jaci because of her small residual limb," Gavras said. He stressed that even small donations help. Just $20 pays for the specialized sock amputees need, he said.
The demand is so great that Limbs for Life uses donations as soon as they come in, he said. People interested in learning more about Limbs for Life can call (888) 235-5462 or visit its website (www.limbsforlife.org).
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