Taking a big step

Her craft, Mandy Myers says, is a blend of science and art.

Myers is a prosthetist, someone who designs, creates and fits artificial limbs. And her Horizon Prosthetics, which she started this year, is a one-woman business. When she’s not working with clients or dealing with insurance, she’s in her workroom.

“I know I will need to get an assistant at some time to handle things such as insurance so I can focus on the clinical care,” Myers said. “But right now, it’s just me.”

For Myers, who has a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Northern Arizona University, creating and fitting an artificial limb is an engineering problem. But she works to never forget the human side of the equation. Her mission is to provide prosthetic services “in a compassionate and positive environment.”

While in college, she learned about prosthetics from a family friend whose son was a prosthetist. After shadowing a prosthetist for a few hours, she knew it was the career for her, she said.

“It’s problem solving, it’s challenging and it’s really rewarding,” she said.

Myers followed college with a prosthetic certification program in California and a one-year residency in Arizona. She and her husband moved to Colorado Springs in fall 2005, and she got a job with an orthotics and prosthetics company.

She launched Horizon Prosthetics in January.

Her business is through physician referrals. Her services include breast prostheses and post-mastectomy products such as mastectomy bras.

The post-mastectomy fitting room has a quiet, soothing feel, with cushy chairs and lavender walls with purple and plum accents. Another room, where fittings are done for prosthetic limbs, is open and filled with sunlight.

“I didn’t want it to be clinical,” Myers said of the overall atmosphere. “I wanted more of an inviting nature.”

Ben Schwenk, an abovethe-knee amputee, has had his current prosthesis for about 10 years. “They’re only supposed to last about three,” he said. Myers has kept it in working shape — similar to keeping an old car running, he said.

“We finally have insurance where I can actually get a new one,” Schwenk said. The new leg will need to withstand heavy-duty use, he said, such as hiking and biking.

Myers evaluates each client’s needs and wants.

“We’ve got the older lady who just wants to go out and walk her dog and work in her garden to the young active guy who works in a warehouse. You really have to finetune that prosthesis for that person.”

Not all of the prostheses Myers offers are made by her. She is trained in fitting and programming the high-tech C-Leg, which includes a microprocessor-controlled knee, but must order it from a German company. A custom breast prosthesis, an alternative to surgical breast reconstruction, requires her to make a mold of the patient’s chest wall; a company in Michigan uses the mold to create the prosthesis.

Other times, though, Myers is back in her workroom, using a vacuum-forming machine, an oven and various tools to create the prosthesis. Some parts, particularly the socket that attaches to the amputee’s residual limb, are custom-made. Other parts, such as feet, are ordered from a manufacturer.

The job entails keeping up with developments such as the use of increasingly sophisticated materials that are a far cry from the wooden or iron legs of old. New plastics and lightweight metals make for lighter, more realistic prostheses.

“There have been a lot of changes in the last 20 to 30 years,” Myers said.

Myers enjoys working with tools — and not just on the job. Her hobby is restoring old Volkswagens.

“I was always the tomboy, the son my dad never had.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0272 or bill.radford@gazette.com

OPEN HOUSE

Horizon Prosthetics, 6055 Lehman Drive, Suite 104, is holding an open house Thursday from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. The event will include product demonstrations, door prizes and refreshments. RSVPs encouraged; call 266-0949. For more information on Horizon, go to www.horizonprosthetics.com.