This story is from our own Dawn Miranda, Dankmeyer Prosthetist Assistant, who is also a below knee amputee. You can read Dawn’s monthly blog here on our website. This is a special first time ever, team patient story - about Dawn and Joe Maese and their experience together, which they call Amputees Supporting Amputees. They were accompanied on this adventure by Danny Weiser, Dankmeyer Prosthetic and Orthotic Resident who also happens to be a professional photographer. Danny took all the photographs for this story at Gold’s Gym. COVID safety measures were taken. All workouts at the gym were performed in a private area (thanks to other clients for clearing space to make this possible), all equipment was cleaned, and masks were worn except when spotting each other or working out alone, or for brief photos.

Brothers and Sisters

Brothers and sisters can be defined as more than blood. Brothers and sisters in our world are built of carbon fiber, aluminum pylons, tubing clamps, screws and silicone. Our bond is forged from trauma, disease, pain - lots of pain. It is these things that makes us a unique community, one that is unbreakable.

Our community is limb loss.  The parts that replace our flesh and blood give us strength, after first breaking us down. It is our journey, our shared stories, that make us whole again. We are mothers, fathers, doctors, lawyers, athletes, homemakers, truck drivers, trainers, farmers - our list could go on for days. The one thing we share that is undeniable is our stories. Whether it is in person, or online, we are amputees supporting amputees to overcome limb loss and find our new normal.

This week I had an amazing experience with a friend who happens to be a patient within our practice. We shared an afternoon of workouts, which was captured by our Prosthetic and Orthotic Resident and professional photographer here at Dankmeyer, Danny Weiser. The pictures tell it all:  two friends, amputees supporting each other through a tough workout. This was my first day back into a gym after moving here from San Antonio, Texas a little over a year ago.  We were at Gold’s Gym for this workout to show how amputees support each other.  There was a lot of sweat, iron, and laughter that filled our afternoon as Joe helped me through some weight training and Danny Weiser captured it with his camera and keen eye. 

I am no stranger to hard work as I was raised on a farm in upstate New York. My days began early and consisted of the gym mother nature provided. My gym in my early years consisted of hay bales, tractor tire repairs, wheelbarrows, and one of my favorites - the haymow rope. There was always plenty of snow to move to get to our barns as well. I have had health up and downs. I had a bad running accident at 18 that left me with a fused ankle and a total of 16 surgeries and later a total ankle replacement that sadly failed. Then between those years, two bouts of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (my toughest battle), which I won, but it created some hearing loss in the process.

Fast forward to three and half years ago when I needed to make a decision after all the surgeries. Everyone told me it had to have been the hardest decision to remove my left leg below my knee. I just responded that beating cancer was a lot tougher than that decision. My surgery took away the pain, terrible crippling pain, and gave me relief, like I was reborn pain free and given a second chance on life. After moving from San Antonio, I came to Dankmeyer as a relatively new amputee to start a new professional chapter in my life. It’s through my job as a Prosthetist Assistant at Dankmeyer that I met Josepi Maese - Joe as I call him.

Joe is a quiet man on first introduction, but once you get to know him he is funny and you can see his passion for helping people reach their goals to be their best, healthy versions of themselves. You can Google Joe and up comes a wealth of information. Many of you may recognize his name, as he was an NFL player here in Baltimore with the Ravens. He has a proud history of playing college ball, then he was drafted by the NFL.  Joe played many years of league football then went on to be a professional firefighter and EMT here in Maryland. Joe’s life changed a few years ago when he faced a traumatic motorcycle accident. This accident made him have to make a tough decision like I had to do - remove his left leg below his knee. This never stopped him. He tackled therapy and getting into his first prosthesis like a champion. Joe continues inspire people though his training business 59 Athletics. 

Gold’s Gym served as our space for our day of workout adventure. Joe has a sweet canine companion who joined us at the gym. Dozer is Joe’s service dog, but Dozer is more than a dog - he is family and he was happy to check out the action. We got set up and Danny suggested some great cross training and weight lifting sessions. We were two people who share the same difference but that day we were just two people getting our workout on!

The warm urban setting was a perfect backdrop for Danny to capture our day. We were socially distanced away in our own areas in the gym and only came near each other’s space for safety when spotting. We cleaned after each use of our equipment as you should always do. Our workout was full of kettle bells, pull up bars, squat racks and battle ropes. We flopped tractor tires too.  As we were finishing up, Danny suggested pushups. Joe came up with one better! He suggested a push up but with me standing on his back!! When Danny showed me our pictures for the first time, with Joe balancing me on his back (he with his prosthetic leg providing a base of strength for him, and me with my leg balancing with stability on his back) I knew then we truly were amputee supporting amputee in both a physical and emotional way. Thank you, Joe, Danny, Dankmeyer and Gold’s Gym for a day I think we all will never forget. 

You can read a previous story from Joe Maese about his experience shortly after his amputation by clicking here. After reviewing the slideshow below, if you would like to know more about Danny Weiser’s inspired photography, you can visit his website by clicking here.