Sylvester 'Sly' Beverly is a diabetic from Colonial Beach who had both legs amputated. Greg Wright of Stafford's Us Orthotics & Prosthetics works with Beverly to adjust his new legs for a perfect fit. PHOTOS BY REZA MARVASHTI/THE FREE LANCE-STAR View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

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'I'm the light at the end of the tunnel'

In his Stafford County office, Greg Wright helps patients get on their feet again, literally

Date published: 4/6/2008

By CATHY DYSON

Greg Wright is part craftsman and part cheerleader, a person who gives artificial legs--and real hope--to those who have lost limbs from diseases or accidents.

Wright fits people for prosthetic devices, but he doesn't just take a few measurements and send an order off to the factory.

He manufactures the pieces himself, in the back shop of his office in Stafford County. He custom-makes the socket--the part that fits over the stump--using items such as plaster mix and sheets of thick German plastic. He might use a jigsaw one minute, a blow torch the next.

But Wright's work isn't limited to his messy moments in the shop at Us Orthotics & Prosthetics, across from the Giant in White Oak. He's also a motivator who helps patients rebound from the worst times of their lives.

"The doctor's got it hard--they're the ones who have to cut your leg off," he said. "At least I'm the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm gonna give you a new leg."

THE HUMAN SPIRIT

Wright, 38, doesn't pump his fist with every breath he takes--but it's close. He gets excited when patients use their prosthetic legs so much they wear out the mechanical parts in the knees or ankles.

"More power to 'em," he'll say, pumping his fist and grinning.

Wright lets out a laugh that's almost maniacal at times, but he gets serious when he talks about the human spirit.

"I find that, in a lot of cases, amputation really brings out the best in a person," he said.

Wright knows about devastating accidents. One brought him to the world of prosthetics.

In 1987, soon after graduation from North Stafford High School, Wright was headed home on Eskimo Hill Road when the steering in his car went out.

He was thrown from his Jeep and broke his skull in several places. A blood clot the size of a racquet ball eventually formed in his brain, causing so much pressure that he had a stroke.

"God reached down and smacked me upside the head," Wright said. "It was the best thing that ever happened to me."

It took two years for him to rebuild his strength, to get back to bench-pressing 315 pounds.

Us Orthotics & Prosthetics is the only full-time business of its kind in the Fredericksburg area. Two-thirds of its patients need orthoses, or braces, to correct damage from broken bones, birth defects or disease, said Jim Tilton, who worked in orthotics for 25 years and opened the Stafford County business in 1995. Tilton also contracts with Mary Washington Hospital and Potomac Hospital to make braces within 24 hours for those who have suffered injuries. The other patients need prostheses, and almost all require artificial legs. Most are older patients who suffer from diabetes or circulatory diseases. Few of them are military amputees, because they're served by the government.

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Date published: 4/6/2008