Matthew David has become accustomed to putting on and adjusting his prosthetic leg.
It’s become a part of his daily routine.
Twenty years ago, David was involved in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident in Jamaica that changed his life forever.
“Ever since then, I’ve been walking with a prosthetic,” he said.
“I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed because eight weeks after my accident, I was on another motorcycle in the Eastern Townships, trying to ride, until i realized, you can’t ride a two-wheel motorcycle with one leg.”
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Always very active, it was difficult for David to continue the same lifestyle he had before his accident.
But that changed when he got a new $25,000 prosthetic leg from Denver, Colorado.
David says he’s the first person in North America to use the prosthetic.
“My leg’s got a three-gadget system,” he said.
“I got a hydraulic, a nomadic, and I got tendons, which has never been seen before.”
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The leg bends at the knee and allows David to put weight on it.
He has another prosthetic leg which he uses for walking, while this one is designed for sporting activity.
He says the possibilities of what he can do are endless.
“I just started riding my bike again and I’m waiting for winter more than anything because I can’t wait for snowboarding,” he said.
David says he never allowed his accident to hold him back and his motto has always been to keep on riding.
“I’ve always been able to do everything,” he explained. “But with this leg, it’s almost the same concept, but now people look at me twice as hard and say ‘oh my god, look at this guy go.'”
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