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April 2005 • Vol. 1, No. 1
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Advancing Orthotic and Prosthetic
Care Through Knowledge
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Paul E. Leimkuehler, CP, founder of PEL Supply Company, "father" of three-track skiing, and early member of the Academy, was a strong proponent for continuous learning throughout one's career. He believed in learning from anyone who knew something he didn't, and always wanted to share his knowledge with others.
Leimkuehler began his O&P education as a patient when he lost his leg as a second lieutenant during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. While waiting for his prosthesis to be created at McGuire General Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, he persuaded those in charge to allow him to use his knowledge of mechanical engineering to help out in the hospital's limb and brace shop. He worked with Blair Hanger in making his own prosthesis and then continued to work in the limb and brace shop for nine months as he completed his rehabilitation, sharing what he knew about adjustments that improved the fit, comfort, and efficacy of prostheses.
After the war, he studied at University of California, New York University, and Northwestern University, and began Leimkuehler Limb Company in 1948. He was one of ABC's early certified prosthetists. He started PEL Supply Company, one of the first companies to provide quality prefabricated parts to other O&P facilities. His three sons, Jon, Bob, and Bill, joined him as practitioners and purchased Leimkuehler Limb Company in 1978. His daughter, Paulette Vaughn, is also involved in PEL Supply.
Leimkuehler became active in what was then known as the Orthopaedic Appliance and Limb Manufacturers Association (OALMA) and was its president when the name was changed to American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) in 1959. He was a sought-after speaker and frequently lectured doctors and nurses on advances in prosthetics as the old heavy wood limbs were replaced by lighter, more durable and flexible materials. He was eager to share his knowledge with colleagues, referral sources, and patients alike. He never missed an annual meeting and encouraged practitioners to share their knowledge by speaking at national and regional meetings. Leimkuehler also served as ABC's president in 1968.
Sports were always an integral part of his life. As a teenager he competed in the 1936 U.S. Olympic Cycling Trials and was the 1938 Ohio State Cycling Champion. In 1956, after watching the Austrian movie, Miracle on Skis, he developed his own design of ski poles made from sawed-off forearm crutches
attached to shortened children's skis. That year at age 38, he skied for the first time using the outrigger poles he made to keep his balance. He quickly became one of the smoothest alpine three-track skiers and racers in the United States.
Leimkuehler purposely didn't patent his outrigger design and allowed others to copy it. He convinced Head Ski Company to provide equipment to amputees to build their own sets of outrigger poles and eagerly shared his drawings and measurements with all who requested them. For his pioneering of amputee skiing in the US, he was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame, the National Disabled Skier Hall of Fame, and the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. Today, amputee skiers everywhere use outrigger poles from his designs.
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