Man with bionic leg to climb 103 flights of stairs this Sunday

The human spirit is an amazing thing and we often see people with disabilities perform feats that defy the human limitations. Zac Vawter is hoping to do just that by putting his prosthetic leg to the test. After losing his leg in a motorcycle accident, the 31-year old was fitted with a pretty awesome prosthetic limb that can be controlled by his thoughts, providing him with a greater degree of control and flexibility compared to regular prosthetic limbs, and come this Sunday he will be putting his bionic leg to the test by climbing 103 flights of stairs to the top of Chicago’s Willis Tower.

Not only will this feat be one of great accomplishment for Vawter, but it will also mark an important step in the area of bionic limbs as according to leader researcher, Levi Hargrove, this will be the bionic leg’s first test in the public eye. How this works is that the limb will respond to electrical impulses from the muscles in Vawter’s hamstring, and all he’d have to do is to think, “Climb stairs” and the motors, belts and chains in the bionic leg will respond to his command.

Vawter is hoping to complete his climb in an hour, which is less time than it would have taken with his previous prosthetic limb which he refers to as his “dumb” leg. We can only imagine that this will be taxing not just physically, but mentally as this would require Vawter to be extremely focused. We wish him all the best!

[Image credit – Associated Press/Brian Kersey]

Tyler Lee
Categories: Medical
Tags: bionic