Alex Moursellas' PROPRIO FOOT Story
On the 25th of June 2015, my life completely changed. I had been riding a motorcycle to work every day for the last 20 years without a hitch. Three weeks before this fateful day, my partner Vanessa had a minor stroke and I had planned to take her to her last check-up at Westmead Hospital on the 25th of June to make sure all was clear. Before her appointment, I needed to go into work before coming home to drop the bike off so I can get our car and drive Vanessa to her important appointment at Westmead Hospital.
I rode my bike into work, set a few things up, then left work and headed home. Now from memory, I had left work around 5:30 am and was travelling along North Rocks Road, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in Westmead hospital in intensive care 3 days later. I was told I had been in a coma following a road accident at the intersection of Barkley road & North Rocks road, where I was hit by a speeding car. I had sustained multiple injuries to the point where I fell into cardiac arrest. The Ambos had to revive me again, and I thank them so deeply for basically giving me a second chance in life. If it weren’t for the Ambos, I would not be here today.
When I woke up in the hospital, I didn’t remember anything except for leaving work. I do remember the doctor waking me up and explaining my situation, saying that I had fractured my right shoulder, snapped my right arm in two places, my femur had also snapped and pierced through my skin and the last thing he told me was that my right foot was amputated on impact. I raised my head to look at my feet which were under the sheet and noticed my left foot was there, but on the other side, the sheet was flat. I then laid my head back on the pillow in disbelief and woke up the next day with my family around me.
In the last 5 years since my amputation, I have gone through 4 types of prosthetic feet. It wasn’t until late 2019 I started wearing a PROPRIO FOOT and have noticed a big difference straight away. If I had to compare all the prosthetic feet I’ve worn, then that’s easy, there is no comparison! The PROPRIO FOOT adjusts itself to make walking easier. There is just no comparison, I just love it.
What I like about the PROPRIO FOOT is that it makes me feel that natural feeling of walking again. The other is being able to wear any type of footwear with ease to re-adjust to suit through an app on my mobile.
The PROPRIO FOOT has had a great impact on my daily lifestyle. It makes a lot of the basic things easier to achieve compared to any of the previous feet I have tried. The PROPRIO FOOT has solved many of my challenges such as walking up and down slopes and hills, co-ordinating my footwork to be able to ride a bicycle, being able to climb stairs with ease, going on walking tracks in the bush and just generally negotiating uneven ground. Because the foot adapts to slopes and different terrain, I find activities like, walking up and down slopes and transitioning from road to pathways and walking on grass, is made easier. I feel like I am lasting a lot longer on this foot when I’m just generally walking about.
Despite the PROPRIO FOOT being still new to me, I have gradually worked my way up to walking longer distances, riding my bicycle and even now being able to go camping. I have even been put back to full-time duties at work.
The most enjoyable part about wearing a PROPRIO FOOT is being able to achieve most things I haven’t been able to do since I lost my foot. The PROPRIO FOOT has given me the confidence to almost do anything I would have done if I had my real foot. It’s had a very strong positive impact in my day to day lifestyle.
I would like to thank the masterminds behind the scenes and secondly all the staff at APC Northmead for everything they had done for me and getting me upright again. Thank you all.
