Andrew Lourake

All of a sudden, life was like a nosedive from clear skies: A motorcycle accident, a broken leg, and a persistent infection. After 18 operations, only two alternatives remained; losing the leg, or losing the dream job as a US Air Force pilot.
Andrew Lourake, who flew members of congress and prominent politicians from Hillary Clinton to Al Gore around the world in the presidential plane "Air Force Two," had long discussions with his wife Lisa and then decided to follow the doctors’ advice and undergo the amputation. With a stiff leg, he would never be permitted to fly again. How could he be expected to reach the emergency exits quickly from the cockpit? How could he move safely in an airplane during turbulence, when the floor vibrates, sways, or tilts?

He said one factor was crucial in reaching his decision: “I knew about the possibilities of the C-Leg." When he began the pilot tests in San Antonio, Texas, Andrew placed all his hopes in the high-end, Otto Bock prosthesis. He hadn’t forgotten the technical aspects of how to fly an aircraft safely, and the Air Force supported him and allowed him to maintain his skills on a flight simulator, but would Andrew also be able to pass the physical performance tests?

Six years after the motorcycle accident - almost to the day - a C-20 Gulfstream landed at Andrew Lourake’s air force base in Maryland. A throng of journalists had come to interview the first upper-leg amputee who had been granted responsibility for passengers by the US Air Force. Before Andrew Lourake appeared on the gangway on November 7, 2004, the cameras focused on a small sign in the side window of the cockpit: Andrew’s handicapped parking permit. The image made for a great joke and quickly found its way around the globe. But the real message that moved an entire nation and was enthusiastically celebrated by his comrades was this: Andrew was back.

Despite the impressive media spectacle, Andrew remains down-to-earth. He has started caring for US soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington; mostly Iraq veterans who returned with severe injuries. While he had time to mentally prepare for the amputation and to gather information about possible solutions, the people he now cares for often lost their limbs just days before. Some are still traumatized after bomb explosions. They are completely unprepared. “But this is no different than it is for car accident victims anywhere in the world,” Andrew said. “From one moment to the next, they are confronted with the fear that nothing in life will be the way it once was.”

After a visit to Otto Bock HealthCare in Duderstadt, Andrew and Lisa went for a walk in the city. On an observation platform on the medieval city wall, Andrew talked about the psychological care of wounded soldiers. “I want to give them courage.” He is making himself available as a bearer of hope, as living proof that it is possible to step right back into life with the C-Leg.