Cycling tranforms the life of a Texas amputee

From the Fort Worth Star Telegram:

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A serious motorcycle crash five years ago took more than Abel Cruz's left leg.

"The accident robbed me of my identity. I was in a wheelchair. I didn't know if I would be able to walk my grandchildren to the park. I didn't know if I would be able to drive," said Cruz (pictured), speaking to more than a dozen amputees outside a south Arlington hospital June 24. "You lose your sense of value."

It was a bicycle that changed his life again.

For the past four years, Cruz, 59, has participated in Amputees Across America's annual cross-country bike ride to raise public awareness that amputees can have active, fulfilling lives. On Thursday, Cruz and two other amputee cyclists who use leg prosthetics stopped in Arlington during their 3,500-mile trip to visit and encourage patients at the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital on Matlock Road.

Cruz, a Navy veteran from New Mexico, urged those who have lost a limb to illness or injury not to lose hope.

"All of the limitations are in your brain," Cruz said.

John Cool, a first-time participant in the relay, also lost a leg after crashing his motorcycle into a telephone pole.

"The telephone pole is still standing today, but so am I," said Cool, 43, of Pennsylvania. "I guess it was a draw."

Cool said it has been both emotional and inspirational to visit new amputees who are undergoing rehabilitation. Arlington's HealthSouth is one of 20 hospitals the cyclists plan to visit during their ride from California to Florida, which is expected to end July 26.

It was cancer, not a crash, that took Dick Fate's left leg three years ago. Fate encouraged patients to live their lives, have fun as much as possible, and not be afraid to ask for or accept help.

"It would have been real easy to mope around the hospital and let a big chunk of my life waste away," said Fate, 61, also of New Mexico. "It's OK to mourn your loss, but don't dwell on that. It doesn't do a whole lot of good to think about what yesterday was."

Cruz said he hopes Amputees Across America is as inspirational for others as it was for him.

"When they came through Albuquerque, I had no hope," he said. "Seeing these riders come through, I knew my life was going to be OK at that point."