THE RANGE OF MOTION PROJECT David Krupa

[00:00:00] Today on the AMPD UP211 Podcast, Executive Director and co-founder of ROMP, the Range

[00:00:06] of Motion Project, Mr. David Krupa.

[00:00:10] David has facilitated the provision of custom made prosthetic devices to over 4,500 of

[00:00:17] the Western Hemisphere's most vulnerable individuals through a delivery model emphasizing

[00:00:22] high quality clinical care, local investment, and advocacy.

[00:00:26] An amputee and prosthetist, he believes mobility and health are critical components in an individual's

[00:00:33] pursuit of life's many aspirations.

[00:00:36] When not working, Krupa spends his time outdoors.

[00:00:40] His passions include climbing.

[00:00:42] Every year since 2015, he has been leading teams of adaptive climbers to the summits

[00:00:48] of glacier covered volcanoes in Ecuador in order to raise awareness and funding

[00:00:53] for the ROMP mission.

[00:00:55] Please welcome to the podcast, David Krupa.

[00:01:06] Mr. David Krupa, how are you?

[00:01:08] Good to see you today, sir.

[00:01:11] I am well.

[00:01:12] How are you, Rick?

[00:01:13] Good to see you.

[00:01:14] Nice to meet you.

[00:01:15] Oh my gosh.

[00:01:16] So nice to meet you.

[00:01:17] And I was reading something the other day because I was doing some show prep on

[00:01:21] you and researching you interesting gentlemen.

[00:01:26] And you are from the Chicagoland area, correct?

[00:01:30] That is correct.

[00:01:32] Where?

[00:01:33] Where exactly?

[00:01:34] So I exactly, precisely, I grew up in a western suburb of Forest Park, Illinois.

[00:01:43] Overbite Air?

[00:01:44] Right on the overbite air.

[00:01:45] Yep.

[00:01:46] That's west side.

[00:01:47] We're the last stop on the CTA blue line.

[00:01:51] So kind of, you know, as close to the city as you can be with not really being

[00:01:56] in it.

[00:01:57] Yeah.

[00:01:58] They said small town.

[00:01:59] What was it?

[00:02:00] Big town access, small town charm, I believe.

[00:02:02] That was the motto at that time of Forest Park, Illinois.

[00:02:06] I was not aware of that tagline.

[00:02:09] That is pretty choice little mixture of words there to describe Forest Park.

[00:02:14] I am somewhat familiar with Forest Park because I come from the construction

[00:02:19] industry and I recall having clients in some of those areas around there.

[00:02:25] I actually grew up in the northwest suburbs like Palatine kind of area, not too

[00:02:31] far from like Schomburg.

[00:02:33] And Schomburg.

[00:02:37] I was actually born in Humboldt Park, but my parents were pretty quick to

[00:02:44] hustle us out of the city and get us into more of a suburban life.

[00:02:49] You actually went to Northwestern, correct?

[00:02:53] I studied prosthetics at Northwestern University.

[00:02:56] That's right.

[00:02:57] Very cool.

[00:02:58] Very cool.

[00:03:00] Given that you've been an amputee most of your life, was that a natural sort

[00:03:07] of progression or evolution that I think I want to be a prostitutes?

[00:03:16] Yes and no.

[00:03:18] I grew up using a prosthetic leg pretty much my entire life from the time I was

[00:03:25] about 18 months old.

[00:03:30] I used to go to the Shriners Children's Hospital there on the northwest side of

[00:03:36] Chicago and had really great access to prosthetic care.

[00:03:40] But honestly, I didn't think about prosthetics as a profession until I was

[00:03:48] getting close to graduating from undergrad university.

[00:03:51] I was considering medical school and that whole track and was getting a new

[00:03:58] I was at the University of Illinois and I was back in town and I was working

[00:04:04] with my prosthetists up there.

[00:04:07] And I remember asking my prosthetists, like, hey, I've been coming here

[00:04:13] for years, I hear the noises in the back, I smell all the chemicals, but I

[00:04:18] never actually have really seen what you do or how you do it.

[00:04:23] And could you take me back there and kind of walk me through it?

[00:04:27] Tell me what goes into this?

[00:04:28] What did you have to study?

[00:04:30] What happened next?

[00:04:31] You know, I'm kind of at this point in my life.

[00:04:32] So yeah, of course, I mean, being around it my entire life, most of the

[00:04:37] time just kind of took it for granted that I would be able to walk,

[00:04:40] that I have a good prosthesis.

[00:04:42] I suffered the moments when I was in pain and I struggled and I had to be

[00:04:46] out of my leg.

[00:04:49] And certainly very much appreciated the work that my prosthetists did

[00:04:55] growing up, but also I appreciated them as people.

[00:04:58] I always liked going to the prosthetists for the most part, you know, I

[00:05:03] enjoyed the experience.

[00:05:04] They were always so kind to me.

[00:05:06] So yeah, I think of course, naturally it led to that because of the

[00:05:11] exposure, but it wasn't something that I was thinking about, you know,

[00:05:14] from the time I was like 12 when someone's like, what do you want to

[00:05:18] do when you grow up?

[00:05:18] I kind of went through all the other things in my imagination and

[00:05:21] then got to that.

[00:05:23] Yeah, it's interesting because when I think about someone like yourself

[00:05:27] and being an amputee most of your life and landing in that space of

[00:05:33] being a prosthetist, I always wonder because I see prosthetics as such

[00:05:40] a mechanical thing.

[00:05:41] Like there's a lot of engineering behind it and there's sort of that

[00:05:45] critical thinking process that goes into the fabrication of these

[00:05:49] devices.

[00:05:50] And I'm like, you know, it's interesting because you really need, and you

[00:05:55] were talking about the medical track, you really need sort of this kind

[00:05:59] of engineering kind of mind where you kind of see things as, you

[00:06:07] know, components that work in harmony, so to speak.

[00:06:12] And I don't know if prosthetists are born from that or conversely, are

[00:06:19] they born from the medical, let's say thinking of I want to care for

[00:06:25] people.

[00:06:26] I want to give them the ability to walk again, to perform again,

[00:06:33] to thrive again.

[00:06:35] But when I think about your journey, especially in reading, you

[00:06:39] know, about ROMP, your mission statement, you know, where you

[00:06:46] have woven all of these various initiatives into what this organization

[00:06:52] does.

[00:06:54] I mean, it's sort of mind blowing because there's so much to it,

[00:06:57] right?

[00:06:58] There's the prosthetic piece giving people those adaptive devices,

[00:07:05] some of which have never even probably seen a prosthetic like in

[00:07:09] person before.

[00:07:12] But there's also this huge advocacy piece for populations that don't

[00:07:23] have these resources, that these things are not available to them.

[00:07:28] But then kind of comes this blanket of inclusivity and diversity and

[00:07:36] all of these other sort of like socio-cultural, economic, it's really

[00:07:43] this sort of, you know, potpourri of a lot of good is how I see it.

[00:07:51] It's just this big sort of momentous kind of ball of, hey man, we're

[00:07:58] just doing some really, really amazing things for some people that

[00:08:03] are struggling in this space.

[00:08:06] And I want to jump ahead just a little bit and, you know, I'm kind of

[00:08:12] breaking my outline here.

[00:08:15] But I want to talk, just because I'm hyper curious, I want to talk

[00:08:22] about the 10th anniversary climb that you're looking at right now.

[00:08:29] And that to me was the thing that sort of jumped off the page and made

[00:08:37] me feel compelled to reach out to your organization.

[00:08:40] I think I saw a teaser somewhere on socials just sort of explaining,

[00:08:48] hey, this is what we're doing over here.

[00:08:51] And I was like, oh shit, like this is something I need to focus in on

[00:08:57] because there's something really, really extraordinary happening with

[00:09:02] these people right now.

[00:09:04] And why don't you walk through not only the history behind, you know,

[00:09:12] these fundraising climbs that you're doing, but also, you know, sort of

[00:09:17] what the initiatives are in that and where you see that going.

[00:09:21] Obviously you're a climber yourself, but explain it in a way that the

[00:09:25] audience can sort of digest it.

[00:09:27] All right.

[00:09:31] Well, first I want to commend your use of the word popery in an

[00:09:36] interview and a podcast conversation.

[00:09:39] That be a first actually.

[00:09:41] I listened to a lot of podcasts, maybe not the right ones to hear

[00:09:46] popery a lot.

[00:09:47] I'm sure there are anyways.

[00:09:48] Yeah, I think you're opening up a lot of facets to the

[00:09:53] conversation.

[00:09:54] And I think at the core of it all, for me, this has always been about

[00:09:59] healing.

[00:10:00] And I think you can approach healing from so many different angles,

[00:10:06] including the engineering angle, including the medical angle,

[00:10:09] the psychological angle, the socio-cultural angle that you

[00:10:13] mentioned, the economic angle, the health justice angle.

[00:10:17] At the end of the day, everything that I personally have been

[00:10:22] trying to do with my life is contribute to the healing of people

[00:10:28] like me, people living with limb loss, limb difference, and have been

[00:10:33] able to find ways to do that through my direct work with my hands

[00:10:37] as a professional, as a prosthetist, through the work of our

[00:10:41] organization, Romp, the Range of Motion Project, and through

[00:10:46] Romp, utilizing a variety of operations and programs and

[00:10:52] interventions on country levels in Latin America, specifically in

[00:10:56] Guatemala and Ecuador.

[00:10:59] And then also through events like Climbing for Romp, which you

[00:11:02] just mentioned, and we are this year celebrating the 10th

[00:11:06] anniversary of this event, which again, going back to this

[00:11:11] concept of healing was initially created to bring people who use

[00:11:21] prostheses, climbing, hiking into the outdoors as a way to heal,

[00:11:29] as a way to improve health, to increase strength, to learn new

[00:11:35] skills, to experience the great outdoors, to work as a team,

[00:11:40] to learn resilience through climbing, hiking, reaching to new heights,

[00:11:49] and to elevate the need for the global need for prosthetic care,

[00:11:56] which is what Romp as an organization specifically is trying

[00:12:00] to change, the fact that there are about 37 million people

[00:12:05] globally who don't have access to prosthetic care.

[00:12:08] So to elevate what's possible with prosthetic rehabilitation,

[00:12:14] with physical rehabilitation, with teamwork, with all the

[00:12:18] things that can be done on a mountain so that someone can reach

[00:12:23] that physical summit of the mountain as a way to demonstrate

[00:12:27] the power of mobility, the power of access to prosthetic care

[00:12:31] and rehabilitation for everyone.

[00:12:33] And to ask that question, what's your mountain?

[00:12:38] What is ultimately your challenge that you're facing?

[00:12:40] We all throughout our lives will face a variety of them

[00:12:44] and to work towards achieving it, overcoming it, reaching it,

[00:12:50] whatever it may be.

[00:12:52] So this 10th year, we've been doing this for many years now,

[00:12:55] we use this particular event Climbing for Romp as a fundraiser,

[00:12:59] as an awareness raiser to teach people about the mission of Romp,

[00:13:07] to ensure access to high quality prosthetic care for underserved

[00:13:11] people, improving their mobility and independence,

[00:13:14] to invite people to climb with us around the world

[00:13:17] and specifically a sort of handpicked group of people

[00:13:21] to climb every year with us in Ecuador, to climb these

[00:13:24] huge volcanoes that we have down here.

[00:13:27] And so do it with the intention to pay forward mobility

[00:13:33] for others who don't have access to prosthetic care today.

[00:13:37] So talking about those climbs, I would think given that

[00:13:42] you've been doing it a decade, I would imagine that your memory

[00:13:48] has got to be chock full of just phenomenal experiences

[00:13:53] to see people in that space achieving those great things,

[00:14:01] showing strength, resilience, pushing those boundaries.

[00:14:06] Right?

[00:14:06] And I know for myself as an amputee in my seventh year,

[00:14:13] it always starts with that teeny tiny goal.

[00:14:17] And you're a prosthetist so you see that evolution

[00:14:22] in real time, that teeny tiny goal of,

[00:14:26] I just want to walk.

[00:14:28] I just want to walk.

[00:14:29] I want to be able to walk.

[00:14:31] And then something happens when you have the proper care,

[00:14:36] when you have the right support system,

[00:14:39] when you have a prosthetist like David Rodder,

[00:14:44] we'll talk about him, that provides you with that type of care.

[00:14:53] Suddenly possibilities start to open up

[00:14:57] and then it becomes something else.

[00:15:00] Maybe it's, I want to ride a bike.

[00:15:03] Maybe it's, I want to go on a hike.

[00:15:07] Then it becomes, maybe I want to walk a 5K.

[00:15:12] And I will talk to amputees frequently that'll say,

[00:15:19] you know, I ran half a marathon last weekend.

[00:15:25] How on earth did I get here?

[00:15:28] Like, I am just blown away that somehow I got into this space

[00:15:34] and knowing and accepting that so much of what happens for an amputee,

[00:15:42] anyone with a limb loss or a limb difference,

[00:15:45] that you have to engage a process.

[00:15:50] That it's incremental.

[00:15:52] It takes time.

[00:15:53] It takes time.

[00:15:54] It's a process.

[00:15:56] And as long as you commit yourself to that journey,

[00:16:00] you're going to get somewhere.

[00:16:03] We'd all love that you throw a leg on and,

[00:16:09] you know, hey, look at me go.

[00:16:10] I can do anything.

[00:16:12] That doesn't happen.

[00:16:14] It's very much a, you know,

[00:16:17] crawl before you walk, you know,

[00:16:19] walk before you run kind of situation.

[00:16:22] And I would imagine for yourself,

[00:16:26] seeing people accomplish things that maybe they had no idea they could do.

[00:16:35] But to feed on the energy,

[00:16:38] that vibration that you're creating with this type,

[00:16:43] you know, of climb, this type of event,

[00:16:47] it sort of compels people to go to that place.

[00:16:51] I mean, what's something that stands out in your memory?

[00:16:54] Where you're like, oh my gosh,

[00:16:55] that was such an affirmation type moment for me.

[00:17:02] Sure.

[00:17:02] Well, you know, there's this cynical philosophy

[00:17:06] that people can't change,

[00:17:08] that people don't change.

[00:17:10] And in this world of prosthetics and in my experience,

[00:17:16] I see people changing every single day.

[00:17:19] Just as you talked about incrementally,

[00:17:22] little by little.

[00:17:24] And certainly have had so many experiences on the mountain

[00:17:27] where I've been witness to incredible growth and transformation.

[00:17:32] And just like funny things too.

[00:17:35] Something that jumps out to me is with one of our first climbers

[00:17:40] who's from Ecuador,

[00:17:42] one of Romps patients at the time.

[00:17:46] He's from a very tropical sort of low altitude,

[00:17:50] low elevation part of Ecuador.

[00:17:53] And never in his life had he touched or seen snow.

[00:17:59] And just like watching his eyes and his energy

[00:18:04] light up like a little boy on the mountain.

[00:18:10] That, you know, how that doesn't change you,

[00:18:13] I don't know if that doesn't,

[00:18:14] like what will, right?

[00:18:16] Yeah, exactly.

[00:18:17] And so, you know, watching year after year,

[00:18:21] people reaching new heights,

[00:18:23] breaking down in tears of both joy

[00:18:26] and sometimes of real suffering and pain.

[00:18:30] Discovering a strength within them that they didn't know existed.

[00:18:35] I have another memory that comes to mind.

[00:18:38] Well, it's sort of a memory spread out over time

[00:18:40] because it's very akin to what you just said,

[00:18:43] which is with one of my dear friends and patients,

[00:18:48] Cathy, early on in her rehabilitation,

[00:18:53] she was happy to walk a 5K.

[00:18:55] And I remember walking it with her.

[00:18:58] And then years later, we were standing on top

[00:19:01] of a 19,300 foot summit in Ecuador called Apoxy.

[00:19:07] And the very next weekend,

[00:19:08] the two of us ran the Chicago Marathon together.

[00:19:11] And so, being exposed to that year after year

[00:19:16] and facilitating that through climbing for ROMP,

[00:19:20] it's a reminder to me that if people can change,

[00:19:24] systems can too.

[00:19:27] And so that's really, I kind of,

[00:19:29] I draw a lot of energy from going into the mountain

[00:19:32] with people because it reminds me that our work

[00:19:36] is having an impact and it's transformed

[00:19:39] and it's transformative.

[00:19:41] And that impact, if we're changing individual lives,

[00:19:44] if we're helping to create access for one person,

[00:19:48] that access can fan out into a systems level change

[00:19:54] to where universal access can eventually become possible.

[00:19:58] Why is that not the case today?

[00:20:00] Why can't every person living with limb loss

[00:20:03] access a prosthesis and go out and do that 5K

[00:20:08] or hike to the top of that hill behind their house?

[00:20:12] So yeah, I've got just an endless amount of memories

[00:20:17] and a decent amount of them have actually been captured

[00:20:20] in video and some of the great content

[00:20:22] that ROMP has produced.

[00:20:23] So if anyone's listening to this

[00:20:25] and ends up going to some of our channels

[00:20:27] or just digs around on our website,

[00:20:30] you can find some really, really beautiful pieces,

[00:20:33] short stories and films of some of these stories.

[00:20:37] And I hope that they do serve as inspiration

[00:20:39] and I'm glad to hear that it does

[00:20:41] to some degree for you as well.

[00:20:42] Like that's the idea here is like if we can inspire someone

[00:20:46] or remind them that transformation is possible,

[00:20:50] it comes with effort without a doubt.

[00:20:52] But that's I think a well applied use of life.

[00:20:59] Very much so.

[00:21:00] And I'm a big believer.

[00:21:03] What resonates for me is that whole ripple effect

[00:21:07] when we're placing our energies in the right place

[00:21:11] and it tends to resonate amongst communities

[00:21:16] and those ripples get larger and larger and larger

[00:21:20] and then suddenly they reach the highest of places,

[00:21:23] those decision-making places that say,

[00:21:26] well now wait a minute, like this is really important.

[00:21:30] And it's just the power of community.

[00:21:33] It's the power of organizations like ROMP

[00:21:36] that say this will not stand.

[00:21:39] Like people need these things to live.

[00:21:43] This isn't just a matter of you need it to walk.

[00:21:46] No, no, no.

[00:21:47] You need this to live.

[00:21:50] It's like oxygen.

[00:21:52] Without it, we don't have life.

[00:21:55] And I am very inspired watching some of the content

[00:22:00] you have on your channels, these video blogs,

[00:22:04] these mini docs that you put together.

[00:22:08] They're really, really amazing.

[00:22:10] I would tell anyone listening to the podcast,

[00:22:15] check out that content because it's moving stuff.

[00:22:20] This organization is doing fantastic things

[00:22:23] for people that are desperate for change

[00:22:29] and to be given the liberation of movement

[00:22:35] and to be able to go to these mountainous places.

[00:22:39] And some of it is very thrilling and obviously cinematic.

[00:22:44] And it's just, all of it is very kinetic for me.

[00:22:48] It's like, wow, there's a lot going on here.

[00:22:52] And that's really what compelled me initially

[00:22:56] to reach out to your organization was the 10th anniversary climb.

[00:23:03] I want to circle back a little bit

[00:23:07] and talk about you personally a little bit more.

[00:23:14] Coming from Chicagoland, my hometown as well,

[00:23:19] and growing up in a suburb of Chicago,

[00:23:25] being an amputee from a very early age,

[00:23:31] I'm trying to remember exactly when you lost

[00:23:34] a portion of your limb.

[00:23:35] Do you remember a time when you had your foot or no?

[00:23:39] I don't remember a time.

[00:23:40] I was about a year and a half old when they amputated my foot.

[00:23:45] I would guess the only fuzzy memories you have

[00:23:47] are derivative just from pictures or something like that,

[00:23:51] like a baby photo or something.

[00:23:55] So growing up amputee is something that always fascinates me

[00:24:00] because relatively speaking in my seventh year,

[00:24:06] I still consider myself very new to all of this.

[00:24:09] The podcast has been serving my curiosities in this journey

[00:24:15] of wanting to understand on a deeper level what all this means.

[00:24:19] Of course, trying to get stories, content into the community space,

[00:24:26] my own little personal ripple to the effect that's going on to say,

[00:24:32] okay, we're all in this community.

[00:24:35] It is our duty to serve and to bring these stories forward.

[00:24:40] It's very important.

[00:24:43] My phone's going off.

[00:24:44] Holy cow.

[00:24:45] We're gonna need to edit that out, Brian.

[00:24:50] So that's really important to me.

[00:24:54] And I want to talk about you as a kid.

[00:24:58] And you had mentioned previously that it sounds like

[00:25:04] you had generally a very positive experience as a child amputee.

[00:25:11] You speak of your care in an endearing kind of way.

[00:25:18] And do you recall ever feeling like this is hard or this is a struggle

[00:25:26] or why am I different or were there any of those emotional sets

[00:25:31] or was your support system so strong that it never really entered your orbit?

[00:25:38] Oh, yeah.

[00:25:40] Yeah, for sure.

[00:25:44] I don't know how old I was probably between 10 and 12, I would say.

[00:25:48] I definitely wrestled with a lot of why questions.

[00:25:57] Why did this happen to me?

[00:25:59] Why am I different?

[00:26:01] I started to notice that difference more.

[00:26:04] I started to feel sometimes physically inferior,

[00:26:09] and it was something I tended to swallow and handle, but it hurt.

[00:26:15] It hurt to come in last doing the laps, jogging around the blacktop

[00:26:22] for one of those little fundraisers you do where every lap

[00:26:26] you'd get 50 cents or something like that.

[00:26:28] Yeah, you did a trackathon.

[00:26:30] Yeah, exactly.

[00:26:35] It was tough to not feel as capable as my friends and people around me.

[00:26:44] And certainly I had those moments of questioning and frustration,

[00:26:50] but I'd say that generally speaking for a variety of reasons

[00:26:56] both peer support as well as family support and professional support

[00:27:04] and having access to really, really good care.

[00:27:10] I was able to handle a lot of that stuff.

[00:27:12] And specifically I can recall a time when I was probably 13, 14,

[00:27:20] we used to have these things called all school picnics in our town.

[00:27:26] And all the schools would be at the public park

[00:27:31] where there's the pool and there's the soccer fields

[00:27:34] and the basketball courts and all that stuff.

[00:27:37] And there was this group of kind of mean kids from another school

[00:27:44] that I don't even know how they managed to do this,

[00:27:47] but they stole my leg from me during the picnic.

[00:27:56] This sounds like part of a movie.

[00:27:59] Oh man, and it was a huge joke for them.

[00:28:03] This was so funny.

[00:28:05] And I was just mortified.

[00:28:09] My friends, my classmates just rallied to my support

[00:28:17] and just surrounded this group of kids and took my leg back.

[00:28:21] And that group of classmates was extremely multicultural,

[00:28:30] multi-ethnic, multi-religious.

[00:28:33] I was very blessed.

[00:28:34] I didn't realize that this was not the way it was for everyone.

[00:28:37] But my grade school experience was extremely diverse

[00:28:45] in this very small class of 25, 26 kids.

[00:28:49] And so here they all were coming back to me with my leg,

[00:28:55] pat me on the shoulders, telling me that everything's fine,

[00:28:58] not to worry, that they wouldn't let that happen again.

[00:29:01] Those are very reassuring as don't let that get to you, whatever.

[00:29:08] I think that that did something to me internally.

[00:29:13] This idea of community, this idea of looking out for one another.

[00:29:23] I think I grew up with a lot of those teachings as well.

[00:29:26] But some of those lived experience,

[00:29:30] for all the times that I was down,

[00:29:32] for all the times that I was in pain,

[00:29:33] for all the times that I was frustrated about being a person

[00:29:35] that was different than others,

[00:29:38] I think just really quickly I found some form of support.

[00:29:43] And certainly within the home.

[00:29:45] But even from peers, from teachers, from coaches

[00:29:49] who decided to take me under their wing and say,

[00:29:52] hey, you want to do this sport,

[00:29:55] I'll work with you directly and let's learn how to wrestle

[00:29:58] and use your disability to your advantage.

[00:30:00] And let's take off your prosthesis and figure out a way to...

[00:30:03] Just a lot of little things like that

[00:30:05] that I think added up over time to a sum total of possibility.

[00:30:13] What is available to you if you open your mind,

[00:30:16] if you think positively, if you cultivate resilience.

[00:30:23] So yeah, I think I was given a lot of the tools,

[00:30:26] I was taught a lot of those tools

[00:30:28] to figure out how to navigate through the tough spots

[00:30:31] because who's not going to come up against tough spots,

[00:30:34] especially going through that change of adolescence

[00:30:38] where you're starting to wonder,

[00:30:40] are girls going to be interested in me?

[00:30:42] Am I going to have friends?

[00:30:43] I'm going to a new school.

[00:30:44] Like, are people going to ostracize me?

[00:30:46] Are they going to make fun of me?

[00:30:48] Someone else is going to steal my leg.

[00:30:52] Adolescence is so difficult already

[00:30:56] with having all your limbs.

[00:30:58] It's painful.

[00:31:00] And I was painfully shy as a kid

[00:31:03] and incredibly insecure as a kid.

[00:31:06] And everything, any look that didn't seem quite right at me

[00:31:12] or any tone that came out of someone's mouth

[00:31:17] that made me think, what does that mean?

[00:31:21] Would just crush me and I would internalize it.

[00:31:25] And then I try to wrap my brain around the thought of,

[00:31:29] well, what if I was an amputee during those times

[00:31:34] or those years?

[00:31:36] And I want to quickly circle back to something you said

[00:31:39] about being exposed to a very diverse sort of group

[00:31:47] of classmates and people

[00:31:50] and having this exposure to that diverse environment

[00:31:58] culturally, religiously, which is a beautiful concept to me.

[00:32:04] And I sort of immediately go to sort of that connection point

[00:32:10] in that you sort of live in that now

[00:32:16] and so much of what you represent in the world

[00:32:22] and looking at your organization, your staff,

[00:32:28] the people that you surround yourself with,

[00:32:32] the people that you serve in these countries.

[00:32:37] This seems to be sort of a theme in your life

[00:32:43] that you sort of bring that to the table.

[00:32:48] You bring these people of different backgrounds

[00:32:52] and cultures and perspectives

[00:32:56] and you focus on the mission.

[00:32:59] Because I was talking to someone the other day

[00:33:02] about the eclipse and everyone has their opinion

[00:33:09] on whether it was important or it was unimportant

[00:33:12] or all the phobias about, did you get the glasses?

[00:33:17] No, I wore my sunglasses.

[00:33:18] Oh, you're going to go blind.

[00:33:19] So there's all these various sort of lenses

[00:33:24] that people are looking through with the solar eclipse.

[00:33:29] And someone had asked me, what are your thoughts?

[00:33:34] And I said, you know, I felt like it was such a beautiful moment

[00:33:40] because amongst all of the sort of disagreement

[00:33:47] and sort of tribal attitudes that exist in our culture now,

[00:33:54] everybody came together.

[00:33:56] Hmm.

[00:33:57] Everybody stopped for a moment, looked in the sky

[00:34:01] and we all shared a moment.

[00:34:04] I go, when was the last time that we all just came together

[00:34:09] and shared something and said, hey, that's really cool.

[00:34:14] Right?

[00:34:15] And I thought, hey, here's a crazy thought.

[00:34:19] We are capable of this.

[00:34:22] We are capable of coming together.

[00:34:26] Wow. Imagine that, especially in an election year in this country.

[00:34:29] Imagine that, right?

[00:34:31] We came together.

[00:34:32] So I think about your organization in somewhat of the same spirit

[00:34:38] of people coming together and serving a cause

[00:34:43] that they see as bigger than themselves

[00:34:47] and they want to be part of that.

[00:34:49] So, you know, in researching, you know, Romp

[00:34:54] and thinking about all the things that you're doing, of course,

[00:34:59] it touched me.

[00:35:00] And, you know, I'm like, well, wait a minute.

[00:35:02] Like, how do you get to go on this climb?

[00:35:06] And, you know, what's the screening process?

[00:35:09] And, you know, maybe if I train for this thing

[00:35:12] and I'm lucky enough, maybe I could do this someday.

[00:35:16] And it sort of, in my own little personal space,

[00:35:21] it's sort of even without you even saying a word we hadn't met yet,

[00:35:28] it opened a door.

[00:35:30] It created a possibility.

[00:35:32] It created the potential for growth.

[00:35:37] Maybe I worked out a little bit harder at the gym.

[00:35:41] Maybe I pushed myself a little bit harder.

[00:35:44] I went a few more miles on my bike that weekend

[00:35:48] simply because you get in that headspace of

[00:35:53] I know I can do better.

[00:35:55] I know I can be better.

[00:35:56] I know I can serve this community better, right?

[00:36:00] And I feel like those affirmations have to be on repeat

[00:36:04] where you go, okay, there's a reason that I'm meeting you.

[00:36:09] There's a reason that we're talking today

[00:36:12] and it's to serve something that's bigger than us

[00:36:15] and to provide that energy that so many people in this community

[00:36:21] are starving for, that are desperate for.

[00:36:25] So I do appreciate you being transparent about your childhood

[00:36:32] and sort of the pitfalls of growing up amputee.

[00:36:36] And it's a beautiful story when you think about it.

[00:36:39] It's definitely something that when you guys do the full documentary

[00:36:45] I definitely want to watch and see that whole kind of lifetime of

[00:36:52] the humble beginnings of growing up as an amputee

[00:36:56] and going to Northwestern and becoming a prostitutes

[00:37:00] and finding that calling to serve people in these underprivileged

[00:37:09] places in the world and giving them the gift of mobility again is remarkable to me.

[00:37:20] What would you say outside of the climb

[00:37:24] and some of the other things that your organization is working on?

[00:37:29] What would be the things that you would want to highlight today

[00:37:31] and let the audience know about?

[00:37:35] Sure. Well, certainly I think the work that we do is really the highlight of what Romp is about.

[00:37:45] You mentioned a few core values there.

[00:37:47] You're talking about community.

[00:37:49] The fact that what we're doing with climbing is somehow empowering you

[00:37:53] to think or opening doors as you said.

[00:37:57] Ultimately, the work that we're doing

[00:38:01] it centers around the human dignity of all of us.

[00:38:05] Each and every single person kind of recognizing their value

[00:38:09] in this time and place.

[00:38:11] We're all the same species.

[00:38:12] There are a lot of different things that we do and ways that we think,

[00:38:15] but ultimately the work that Romp does is really what I'd highlight.

[00:38:21] We use climbing, we use this event this year to again advocate for

[00:38:26] and to kind of scream from the mountaintops like let's change this.

[00:38:29] Let's do something about this.

[00:38:30] We're sending rockets to space.

[00:38:33] We have artificial intelligence and we can't figure out how to put

[00:38:36] millions and millions of prosthetic limbs on people that need it the world over.

[00:38:39] It's kind of absurd, but ultimately we're doing all this stuff.

[00:38:44] We're making this noise.

[00:38:45] We're trying to raise money and raise awareness so that we can do the work.

[00:38:49] The work that Romp has been doing for almost 20 years now

[00:38:52] is something that I'm just so proud of.

[00:38:55] I'm proud of the team.

[00:38:57] You mentioned our incredibly diverse staff.

[00:39:01] Most of our team is in Latin America and Guatemala and Ecuador

[00:39:05] and we have just some of the absolute best professionals,

[00:39:09] many of them women that are making change in their communities

[00:39:12] and bringing the highest quality prosthetic care,

[00:39:15] physical therapy, psychological support, nutritional guidance,

[00:39:20] community level work to people who need it the most,

[00:39:23] the poorest of the poor.

[00:39:25] 95% of the patients that we serve are living on $6.85 a day or less.

[00:39:33] We are serving people in the remote corners of Guatemala

[00:39:36] in indigenous communities in the Amazon of Ecuador,

[00:39:41] from the highlands to the coast,

[00:39:43] bringing incredibly advanced technology to them.

[00:39:49] And we're able to do that because we recycle prosthetic waste nationally in the US,

[00:39:57] running maybe one of the largest prosthetic recycling networks in the US.

[00:40:02] So anyone that's listening that has even just a piece of a prosthetic limb

[00:40:06] that they're no longer using, we will take it.

[00:40:09] Oh, that's a really good point.

[00:40:11] Yeah, I was not aware of that.

[00:40:13] So anyone out there that's got an old foot,

[00:40:16] got an old socket, any kind of loose parts, anything of that nature,

[00:40:21] you harvest that and then you actually turn that around.

[00:40:26] We harvest that.

[00:40:27] That's a great word.

[00:40:27] Absolutely, yeah, we do harvest it.

[00:40:30] We collect it.

[00:40:31] We quality control it.

[00:40:32] We toss the junk.

[00:40:34] We break it down into the most usable parts

[00:40:37] and we package it up and ship it out to our clinicians

[00:40:42] where it's needed for specific cases.

[00:40:44] This is allowing us to put a wide variety of technologies on our patients

[00:40:49] according to their needs,

[00:40:51] very much in the way that you would expect to be treated by,

[00:40:54] you mentioned David Rodder,

[00:40:57] anyone listening expects that of their prosthetic care.

[00:41:00] I need this device to work for me,

[00:41:02] for my activities, for my goals, for my work.

[00:41:06] And the people that we serve quite often

[00:41:09] are the vast majority of them are very healthy.

[00:41:14] Otherwise, they've suffered a traumatic amputation.

[00:41:17] They're usually of working age or of school age

[00:41:22] and have very few other issues going on

[00:41:25] to limit their health and mobility.

[00:41:28] And so the prosthetic device, when crafted appropriately

[00:41:32] of the technology that they can make use of,

[00:41:35] we've helped people run within the first hour of their fitting

[00:41:39] and go back to work and go back to construction

[00:41:42] and farm again and walk five miles to school

[00:41:46] back and forth every day.

[00:41:48] So I'm extremely proud of the actual programs

[00:41:51] that ROMP carries out.

[00:41:52] Ultimately, our mission to ensure access,

[00:41:55] a huge aspect of ensuring access for us

[00:42:01] is actually providing care.

[00:42:02] And creating ecosystems within currently Guatemala

[00:42:06] and Ecuador where high quality care is happening,

[00:42:10] where professionals from both countries,

[00:42:13] from the region can work with patients,

[00:42:16] can learn evidence-based practice,

[00:42:20] evidence-based practice,

[00:42:21] can learn from the best professors, colleagues,

[00:42:28] teachers, can improve their skills

[00:42:31] that can focus on delivering loving and quality care

[00:42:37] to each and every single patient.

[00:42:39] And that is really, I think, part of our long-term vision

[00:42:44] of sustainability and change comes at that level

[00:42:48] of providing actual care.

[00:42:50] So I think there's been a variety of innovations

[00:42:52] that we've been able to do as an organization

[00:42:56] from data collection and measuring the impact

[00:42:59] of our work and tracking meticulously each and every case

[00:43:03] and doing it in a way that I think really stands on par

[00:43:06] with some of the best medical systems in the world

[00:43:11] to getting down and dirty in the community.

[00:43:14] I mean, we are in the communities,

[00:43:16] we're working in the homes, we're doing home care,

[00:43:19] we're visiting our patients from the time

[00:43:21] that they have an amputation

[00:43:23] to through their pre-prosthetic coaching

[00:43:27] and physical therapy and psychological therapy

[00:43:31] to getting a prosthesis, to learning how to use it,

[00:43:34] to getting back to work,

[00:43:35] to learning how to use the health system around them,

[00:43:38] to learn how to use public transportation,

[00:43:39] to learn how to open up bank accounts

[00:43:41] and start small businesses,

[00:43:43] to prepare for a job interview and get back to work.

[00:43:47] Our patients are more mobile, they're more employed,

[00:43:50] they're less depressed.

[00:43:52] That's ultimately, I think what I hope anyone listening

[00:43:57] can walk away with is that we can go to the mountains,

[00:44:01] we can inspire and empower people

[00:44:03] to dig deep within themselves,

[00:44:05] to change, to transform,

[00:44:07] to reach for new summits, to reach for new heights.

[00:44:10] But ultimately, we're trying to do it in a way

[00:44:14] that is ensuring some sort of sustainable

[00:44:16] and lasting improvement in health systems

[00:44:20] in underserved parts of currently the Americas.

[00:44:24] What do you, what gravitated you specifically

[00:44:29] in your journey to Ecuador?

[00:44:37] Like what was it that occurred,

[00:44:41] that put you in a trajectory to go to those locations?

[00:44:47] I mean, what was the series of events?

[00:44:49] Was it something that you had just an opportunity

[00:44:54] to go there and serve those communities or what was it?

[00:44:59] Has anyone ever offered you like a free dinner coupon

[00:45:03] at a restaurant?

[00:45:04] Oh, for sure.

[00:45:06] Did you go?

[00:45:07] Yeah.

[00:45:09] Well, so early on in the first couple months of ROMP

[00:45:15] back in 2005, my employer introduced me

[00:45:19] to an organization, their home office

[00:45:24] is up in Northwest Indiana.

[00:45:26] And in conversations with their executive director,

[00:45:29] she basically said, hey,

[00:45:31] if you want to provide prosthetic care,

[00:45:32] I've got a brand new facility that we're about to open up.

[00:45:36] I have some empty space.

[00:45:38] If you want, you can put a prosthetics lab

[00:45:41] and facility in that space.

[00:45:43] I said, where is it?

[00:45:44] She said, it's in Guatemala.

[00:45:46] Okay.

[00:45:47] So it was really a serendipitous opportunity,

[00:45:52] I think as an organization when we first started

[00:45:56] with the desire to help,

[00:45:59] we understood then and we understood now

[00:46:01] that there's a need everywhere.

[00:46:03] But we followed an opening.

[00:46:06] We followed this path that basically opened up

[00:46:10] an opportunity came our way to have this collaboration

[00:46:13] on the ground, to have infrastructure,

[00:46:15] to have local knowledge,

[00:46:19] to have this red carpet rolled out, if you will.

[00:46:23] And ever since then that's been our model,

[00:46:25] which has been wherever we're going to grow,

[00:46:28] we need to grow with partnerships,

[00:46:30] we need to grow with others.

[00:46:32] We need to look for those open doors.

[00:46:34] We need to look for that fertile soil

[00:46:36] where the need exists,

[00:46:37] but the opportunity exists as well,

[00:46:40] that intersection.

[00:46:42] And so that's kind of how we jumped from Guatemala

[00:46:45] to Ecuador, similar.

[00:46:47] I had some relationships and some friendships

[00:46:50] and some other things that were aligning.

[00:46:52] And as we look towards the next few years

[00:46:55] wanting to expand beyond Guatemala and Ecuador

[00:46:59] and kind of putting our feelers out there

[00:47:00] and investigating and doing some site visits

[00:47:04] and going to different countries in the region,

[00:47:08] it's very much we are keeping our mind open to that,

[00:47:16] to the types of partnerships,

[00:47:17] to the type of local ownership and desire that exists.

[00:47:21] Because in order to sustain Romp,

[00:47:24] Romp is not about me,

[00:47:26] it's not about that we started in Chicago,

[00:47:29] it's not about that we're in Ecuador,

[00:47:31] it's ultimately about the community around it

[00:47:34] that wants to prop it up, keep it up,

[00:47:36] and help it thrive.

[00:47:38] That community is, we find it on the mountains

[00:47:41] with our climbers and with the people

[00:47:43] that donate to them and support them

[00:47:45] and cheer for them.

[00:47:46] But we also find it locally

[00:47:48] with all of the healthcare professionals,

[00:47:51] the doctors, the nurses, the physicians,

[00:47:53] or the physical therapists,

[00:47:55] the donors, the community organizations,

[00:48:00] the other foundations in the area,

[00:48:01] the schools, the universities, et cetera,

[00:48:04] that want this to exist

[00:48:05] because they're also sick and tired

[00:48:08] of seeing dozens and hundreds

[00:48:11] of people with amputation every year

[00:48:13] out on the street, begging at the stoplight,

[00:48:17] hobbling around on crutches,

[00:48:20] sticking around at home,

[00:48:21] the kids that aren't going to school,

[00:48:23] their neighbors' daughter

[00:48:26] who's grown up just never leaving her house.

[00:48:30] It's just people are getting fed up with it

[00:48:33] as we should because the human right

[00:48:35] to access mobility and this type of technology

[00:48:38] to participate in the world is something

[00:48:42] that it just seems that more

[00:48:45] and more people are able to rally around.

[00:48:49] And so if we find those connections,

[00:48:51] that's how ultimately we ended up

[00:48:52] in Ecuador and Guatemala.

[00:48:54] And then kind of over the years

[00:48:55] it's become strategically reasonable

[00:48:59] for us to kind of maintain our presence

[00:49:03] in the Western hemisphere.

[00:49:04] We have a lot of understanding

[00:49:06] of the Latin American culture.

[00:49:09] We have bilingual workforce.

[00:49:12] We're kind of on the same time zones.

[00:49:14] You know, there's some logistics,

[00:49:16] ease of doing business.

[00:49:18] So for now, you know,

[00:49:20] knowing that there's a huge demand

[00:49:21] in this part of the world

[00:49:23] and a big need to kind of continue

[00:49:25] building those bridges throughout

[00:49:27] the Americas and look for future

[00:49:30] opportunities for growth

[00:49:31] throughout the Americas is at least

[00:49:33] what we see on the horizon.

[00:49:35] Yeah, it's a fantastic organization,

[00:49:38] Endeavor.

[00:49:38] What a phenomenal legacy

[00:49:43] that you've created for yourself.

[00:49:51] You mentioned David Roder,

[00:49:52] my prostitutes right here

[00:49:54] and in Joliet, Illinois.

[00:49:57] Had you guys worked together?

[00:49:58] Was that the connection?

[00:49:59] Like somehow your paths crossed

[00:50:01] at some point?

[00:50:02] So I was a resident years ago

[00:50:08] and I worked in the same company

[00:50:10] that David Roder was working at.

[00:50:11] He was one of my mentors at the time

[00:50:15] and the other co-founder of Romp,

[00:50:17] Eric Neufeld and I,

[00:50:18] we were residents together

[00:50:19] and as we started to come up

[00:50:22] with the idea of Romp,

[00:50:25] David Roder was always there

[00:50:28] as a mentor,

[00:50:31] as sort of a spiritual

[00:50:34] and moral guide in a certain sense.

[00:50:36] I think really helping us to believe

[00:50:39] in the possibility that

[00:50:40] this could be done

[00:50:43] and has always since pretty much

[00:50:45] the beginnings of Romp served,

[00:50:47] has served on our volunteer

[00:50:49] clinical programs.

[00:50:50] This is a way that

[00:50:52] prostitutes in the U.S.

[00:50:54] but also kind of anyone

[00:50:55] can be a part of it

[00:50:55] to get involved with Romp

[00:50:57] in the patient service care,

[00:51:00] which is something

[00:51:02] that he was doing from 2005 on.

[00:51:05] You know every single year

[00:51:07] without fail he'd come down

[00:51:08] to Guatemala and volunteer

[00:51:11] as a prostitutes

[00:51:13] and make some of the most

[00:51:14] incredible devices,

[00:51:16] provide some of the most

[00:51:18] loving care to our patients

[00:51:20] and has always been sort of

[00:51:21] like this honorary co-founder

[00:51:24] of the organization,

[00:51:25] coaxing us on financially supporting,

[00:51:28] sending his staff,

[00:51:30] sending probably thousands of pounds

[00:51:33] of prosthetic components every year

[00:51:36] to the organization

[00:51:37] and really just kind of

[00:51:42] when things have gotten tough,

[00:51:44] when doubts have come on strong,

[00:51:46] when it's just like

[00:51:47] how are we going to keep this up?

[00:51:48] How are we going to keep this growing?

[00:51:50] Just kind of always bringing it back

[00:51:53] to the fundamentals

[00:51:54] of what Romp is about

[00:51:55] and just reminding me personally

[00:51:58] as a friend, as a mentor,

[00:52:01] that this just keep doing it.

[00:52:02] Just keep doing it

[00:52:04] and yeah just a great guy.

[00:52:06] He's taught me a ton

[00:52:07] about prosthetic care itself,

[00:52:09] you know about design,

[00:52:10] upper extremity prosthetics.

[00:52:11] We've done so many crazy things

[00:52:14] in both Guatemala and Ecuador,

[00:52:17] you know really complex

[00:52:19] amputation cases

[00:52:20] where he's come in

[00:52:21] and has not only provided care

[00:52:23] but has also provided a lot of teaching

[00:52:25] to our local prosthetists,

[00:52:27] sharing his knowledge,

[00:52:28] sharing his wisdom.

[00:52:30] Just such a generous guy

[00:52:32] and I'm glad that he happens

[00:52:35] to be a little nexus of connection

[00:52:38] between you and me

[00:52:39] because he's such a great human being,

[00:52:42] good friend.

[00:52:43] Yeah I have to echo that.

[00:52:46] I have been with David

[00:52:49] for about three years now

[00:52:52] and you know coming to him

[00:52:55] and when you say you know loving care,

[00:52:58] I've never had the kind of care

[00:53:03] in my amputee journey

[00:53:04] that would even come close

[00:53:07] to the level of just

[00:53:09] you know kindness

[00:53:10] and empathy

[00:53:11] and just you know

[00:53:14] really wanting to be

[00:53:16] very patient focused

[00:53:19] and not process focused

[00:53:21] because so much of my experiences

[00:53:23] when I became an amputee

[00:53:26] I thought okay this is a

[00:53:28] kind of a one leg fits all

[00:53:29] kind of concept isn't it

[00:53:31] and then I realized

[00:53:34] that I needed to keep working towards

[00:53:40] advocating for myself,

[00:53:41] speaking up more,

[00:53:43] trying harder,

[00:53:44] definitely owning

[00:53:48] a lot of the responsibility

[00:53:49] and saying you know

[00:53:52] you're gonna have to

[00:53:53] become much more fit,

[00:53:56] you're gonna have to take

[00:53:57] better care of yourself.

[00:53:58] None of this works

[00:54:00] until you start

[00:54:01] doing the work on yourself

[00:54:03] and start owning your piece

[00:54:06] in this puzzle

[00:54:07] and once I sort of fully engaged

[00:54:11] I ended up in an adjustable socket

[00:54:14] for a few years

[00:54:16] which was good for me

[00:54:17] because my residual limb

[00:54:19] was going through a lot

[00:54:21] of sweeping changes

[00:54:23] especially as my fitness level

[00:54:24] was increasing

[00:54:26] and you know I'd have

[00:54:28] a tremendous amount

[00:54:31] of shrinkage

[00:54:32] throughout the day

[00:54:33] so there was all kinds

[00:54:34] of challenges

[00:54:36] but once I came to David

[00:54:37] I kind of plateaued

[00:54:39] and he said

[00:54:43] you know you're ready

[00:54:44] for a rigid socket now

[00:54:46] like your limb is in

[00:54:48] pretty good shape

[00:54:50] we're gonna give it a shot

[00:54:53] and I have to say that

[00:54:56] the way I feel now

[00:54:57] in my prosthesis

[00:54:59] it's the most comfortable

[00:55:00] I've ever felt

[00:55:01] to be able to

[00:55:04] movement was never tough

[00:55:06] movement was never tough for me

[00:55:08] moving around

[00:55:09] was always pretty easy

[00:55:11] because I felt like

[00:55:14] my limb enjoyed the movement

[00:55:15] it enjoyed being in the socket

[00:55:17] as long as the side

[00:55:18] as long as there was movement involved

[00:55:21] I was walking

[00:55:22] or doing some level of activity

[00:55:25] I was fine

[00:55:26] it was the moment

[00:55:28] I would stop

[00:55:29] and sit

[00:55:31] that's when

[00:55:32] I would really struggle

[00:55:34] whether I was in a car

[00:55:36] whether I was at my desk at work

[00:55:38] whether I was in a movie

[00:55:40] I just couldn't sit

[00:55:42] with a prosthesis on

[00:55:44] so the fact that I can

[00:55:47] you know work at my desk

[00:55:49] for you know 8-10 hours straight

[00:55:53] and not even

[00:55:54] some days even realize

[00:55:55] I'm wearing a prosthesis

[00:55:57] it feels almost like

[00:55:59] a miracle to me

[00:56:00] that it's just

[00:56:02] a natural extension of myself now

[00:56:04] and it's been just such an absolute pleasure

[00:56:10] to deal with him

[00:56:11] so yeah it's a cool connection point

[00:56:14] so I was excited to explore that a little bit

[00:56:19] you know I'm excited

[00:56:22] to stay tuned so to speak

[00:56:24] to see what's going to be happening in the future

[00:56:28] I'll definitely be tuning in to see

[00:56:31] how this 10th anniversary climate

[00:56:34] goes how things develop

[00:56:37] you know on your path

[00:56:39] on the path

[00:56:40] of the range of motion project

[00:56:43] and I would encourage

[00:56:45] all of our listeners

[00:56:46] to really check it out

[00:56:48] and see the good that you're doing

[00:56:50] in the world

[00:56:51] and try to find

[00:56:54] where maybe you can support

[00:56:56] and you know bring

[00:56:59] all of our efforts

[00:57:00] to what you're trying to accomplish

[00:57:01] as an organization

[00:57:03] is there anything you'd like to say

[00:57:07] to the audience to close today?

[00:57:11] Yes absolutely

[00:57:13] I see behind you

[00:57:15] there's this little

[00:57:16] there's this cool banner

[00:57:17] Amped Up podcast

[00:57:19] if you have all the silhouette images

[00:57:21] of people hiking

[00:57:23] and running

[00:57:23] and playing soccer

[00:57:25] and in wheelchairs

[00:57:26] and this May

[00:57:30] I invite all of you listeners

[00:57:34] everyone here that's tuned in

[00:57:37] to join

[00:57:39] ROMP's Mobility May campaign

[00:57:44] you can find out about it

[00:57:45] on our on our channels

[00:57:47] at rompglobal

[00:57:49] most of our channels there

[00:57:50] www.rompglobal.org

[00:57:53] and we want to as a community

[00:57:56] move 60,000 miles

[00:57:59] miles are

[00:58:02] 10 minutes of exercise

[00:58:03] or literally a mile moved

[00:58:05] walking in a wheelchair

[00:58:07] running whatever biking

[00:58:09] hiking

[00:58:11] join Mobility May

[00:58:13] move with us

[00:58:14] if you're inspired to

[00:58:16] to find some people to pledge

[00:58:19] some money to your to your miles

[00:58:21] to your to your efforts

[00:58:23] thank you because that money's

[00:58:24] going straight to helping us

[00:58:25] provide prosthetic care

[00:58:27] and ensure access

[00:58:28] for for quality prosthetic care

[00:58:31] throughout the Americas

[00:58:32] but it's a you know

[00:58:34] really really fun

[00:58:35] we're looking to have

[00:58:36] at least 500 people

[00:58:37] signed up this year

[00:58:39] I think probably

[00:58:40] I understand through your community

[00:58:42] you've got way more than 500

[00:58:44] so congratulations Rick

[00:58:45] for building a really awesome

[00:58:47] platform and having

[00:58:49] yeah just having this

[00:58:50] this information available

[00:58:52] and a good conversation available

[00:58:54] so yeah join

[00:58:55] join Mobility May

[00:58:56] with ROMP this year

[00:58:58] and and from there

[00:58:59] yeah you'll learn more about

[00:59:01] all the other things we do

[00:59:03] we also have a lot of opportunities

[00:59:04] for for health care professionals

[00:59:06] clinical opportunities

[00:59:07] and of course

[00:59:08] if you're ever going to get rid

[00:59:09] of something

[00:59:10] or you're not using it anymore

[00:59:12] we can recycle it

[00:59:13] we can take all that prosthetic

[00:59:15] quote unquote waste

[00:59:17] and put it back to

[00:59:18] put it back to use

[00:59:19] so let's increase our

[00:59:21] our carbon fiber footprint

[00:59:23] as we we recycle

[00:59:24] prosthetic waste in the world

[00:59:27] so that that would be it my friend

[00:59:29] David Krupa thank you so much

[00:59:31] I appreciate that way to go

[00:59:33] way to wrap it up

[00:59:34] this is the Amped Up 211 podcast

[00:59:36] my name is Rick Bonkowski

[00:59:38] I want to wish everyone

[00:59:39] health and happiness

[00:59:40] and we'll see you next time