On the road to the 2016 Olympics

By Dean Shipley

Staff Writer

Becoming a double amputee: the best thing that ever happened to me.

submitted

Robert “Bobby” Puckett, a double amputee from a 2000 pick-up accident, competes on a specially built, hand propelled tricycle. His goal is to be a paraolympic competitor in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

You’d think such a statement wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.

For double amputee Robert Puckett, however, it’s a true statement. Puckett, originally from London, whose legs suffered severe burns in an truck accident on state Route 38 the winter of 2000 and had to be amputated, moves on in life because of his disability. He turned a potential negative of two missing limbs into a positive.

Losing both legs below the knee has added focus and determination to Puckett who has been in places and participated in events he never thought possible while lying in a hospital bed, enduring the pain of having both legs amputated. Eleven years ago, one place he never thought he would be is Rio de Janeiro in 2016. That Brazilian city has been selected as the host for the Olympic Games, in which Puckett dreams of competing as a hand cyclist. To move a specially-built tricycle, Puckett uses his arms and shoulders.

By 2016, Puckett will be age 41. But he qualified in June 2011 as a 37-year-old to record times worthy enough to place him in the “pipeline” for prospective Olympians. By making it into the pipeline, the Olympic committee created a pipeline of support for Puckett. He receives support from sponsors and for training. His biggest supporter is his wife, Andrea.

He met her through friends in 2005 when she was studying to become a social worker. They fell in love and married and together they started a support group for amputees.

To further their support for amputees, they have made it their life’s work. Andrea is now a social worker for Westcoast Brace & Limb, which works with amputees to fit them with prosthetics.

Bobby, as he’s known, is in school studying how to build prosthetics. He is a student at the St. Petersburg (Fla.) College, which has a good prosthetics and orthotics program. His goal is to be able to meet with an amputee, evaluate him/her, design a prosthesis, oversee the manufacturing process, fit and adjust it and remain in contact with the patient.

He routinely talks to men and women, whom have recently lost limbs, to encourage and inspire them. He talks about his early days as an amputee, where most of his audience begins.

“When I became an amputee there were a lot more questions than answers,” he said. “I remember being so frustrated; I just did not know where to go to get the answers I needed. I knew then, that I had to share everything I learned on my journey.”

He took some training and became a certified Peer Visitor. He has spoken “to hundreds of amputees, and have tried to help them enjoy a rewarding and healthy lifestyle,” he said.

Puckett’s most consistent message is, “You can do this, you can over come these obstacles.” He compares life as an amputee to climbing a mountain.

“When standing at the bottom (and) looking up, it may seem like an impossible challenge,” he said. He said with each step upward from the bottom of the mountain, the amputee acquires the proper tools, the prosthesis, a knowledgeable guide, the prosthetist and a good rehabilitation plan, that mountain crest can be achieved.

“Many others have done it before you so you are not alone. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or for help,” he said.

Residing in sunny Florida, it allows Puckett to train year round for his Olympic goal. He has undertaken a rigorous regimen.

“My coach designs my training program depending on the events in the near future as well as major competitions of the year. Usually I am in the gym three days a week. Most weeks I am riding five or six days usually between 75-125 miles a week. These miles include drills to work on endurance, sprinting speeds, and climbing hills.

“I have recently started training to participate in local triathlons. So far, I have participated on relay teams where I will do the running portion or the biking portion. Soon I hope to complete my first triathlon by myself. So I have been cross-training with running and swimming. I have been running and swimming a couple days a week.
”

 Jeff Gates contributed to this story