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Light moments help cope with loss of leg

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Barbara J. Perenic/Wide receiver Derick Byrd, a freshman on the Triad JV football team, lines up during a game against Mechanicsburg on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Derick plays with a prosthetic "cheetah" leg.

By Brian Plasters, Staff Writer Updated 7:23 AM Friday, October 23, 2009

NORTH LEWISBURG — Devin Byrd held his brother’s foot high, like a trophy.

Derick Byrd was running routes during a July football session when his titanium and carbon fiber prosthetic leg snapped in two, at the ankle joint.

“I was trying to run really hard and I went to cut,” the Triad High School freshman wide receiver said, “and my foot went sideways because it was getting really weak. It just broke off. It was kinda weird. It went flyin’.”

Derick’s roughhousing proved too much for the titanium and carbon fiber prosthetic. He took it as a badge of honor.

“He started walking around without the foot on his leg, and it was pretty funny,” Devin Byrd said. “I took it home and I had the foot in my bag. I took it out and I said, ‘Mom, I think Derick broke his foot.’”

So passed another light moment for the Byrd family amidst a serious situation.

Derick Byrd was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, in his left leg when he was 8 years old. Treatment for the disease weakened his tibia. It was removed and a titanium implant was infused between his femur and his ankle. He couldn’t run, hop, jump, bend, twist or do anything that would damage the implant.

Eventually, that titanium implant bent and a new solution was sought.

In July 2008, Derick underwent a procedure called a rotationplasty. The leg was to be partially amputated and the ankle turned 180 degrees to serve as a knee joint for a prosthetic leg.

However, the procedure failed and his lower leg could not be saved. His leg was amputated above the knee.

“I was expecting to wake up with my leg,” Derick said. “It freaks you out. ... You look down and your leg’s not there. It’s weird.”

However, the loss of his leg turned out to be a benefit. With the first prosthetic, Derick was more active. Still, it wasn’t designed for an rumbling and tumbling teenager who enjoyed sports and wrestling with his brother. Derick received his Cheetah Flex-Foot in September. His activity increased.

“I get better every day,” he said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0366 or bplasters@coxohio.com.

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