Walking with Faith

Story by Ann E. Butenas

One man’s journey from a devastating accident to renewed hope demonstrates the power of community and unwavering determination.

A Life-Changing Moment

January 22, 2024, started as an ordinary morning for Joe Knight, a shipping lead and equipment operator in Paola, Kansas. He was driving to work when a seizure struck without warning, his first in 24 years.

The seizure caused Joe to lose control of his vehicle at highway speed. His car slammed into a utility pole at an estimated 65 miles per hour.

“I ended up breaking somewhere around 20 bones, maybe a little bit more,” Joe said. “That included my shoulder, my jaw, my eye socket, and both legs in multiple places.”

Over the next twelve months, Joe would undergo roughly 14 surgeries, including a partial shoulder replacement, a knee replacement, and ultimately, the bilateral below-knee amputation of both legs.

“I remembered bits and pieces of the first three days, but the first recollection I had of fully remembering anything was probably by the fourth day, coming out of surgery,” Joe explained. “It was definitely a long road.”

Early Steps Toward Recovery

Even while Joe remained in the ICU at Overland Park Regional Medical Center, rehabilitation began. On just the second day after his accident, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist had him sitting up, if only for a few seconds.

Dr. Kesl and the surgical team at OSI (Orthopedic & Sports Institute) worked tirelessly through what would become a year-long process of multiple surgeries. The challenges were immense. Joe had broken his left shoulder, an injury that proved worse than initially thought, as it kept falling out of socket. This meant during early recovery, Joe had no use of his left arm and couldn’t put pressure on either leg.

“In the beginning it was extra rough because I only had the use of my right arm,” Joe said. “Both legs had external fixators from basically my ankles to my upper thighs, so I couldn’t bend my legs at all.”

Dr. Kesl would later reflect that Joe was “one of the most positive patients he’d ever had and was doing the best he could for all he’d been through.” The surgeon was deeply impressed with Joe’s outlook and its impact on his recovery.

Finding Hope at MidAmerica

MidAmerica Rehabilitation Hospital became Joe’s next stop on the journey to recovery. The facility, known for its comprehensive rehabilitation programs, would prove instrumental in teaching Joe how to navigate his new reality.

Morgan Davis from MidAmerica’s team visited Joe while he was still in the hospital and saw something in him: a determination that suggested he would thrive with the right support. Within 24 hours, she had arranged his admission.

At MidAmerica Rehabilitation Hospital, Joe worked with physical therapist Brandy and occupational therapist Lauren. The team took a personalized approach to his rehabilitation, teaching him essential skills like using a slide board, which is a smooth, sanded wooden board that creates a bridge between his wheelchair and other surfaces.

“They taught me a lot,” Joe said. “I felt more like they were working with me and not just trying to overpower what I needed. They listened to me whenever I told them something wasn’t working, and we went back to the drawing board and tried something new until we found something that worked.”

Joe stayed at MidAmerica Rehabilitation Hospital three times throughout his recovery. The facility also hosts a free amputee support group that meets monthly, a resource Joe continues to utilize.

It was MidAmerica that connected Joe with his next critical partner in recovery: Keaton at Hanger Clinic.

Meeting Keaton

Keaton, a certified prosthetist/orthotist at Hanger Clinic in Overland Park, first met Joe in June when he was called to MidAmerica Rehabilitation Hospital during Joe’s therapy sessions.

At that initial meeting, Joe’s situation was complex. He needed a prosthesis for his left leg, but his right leg also required support, specifically an AFO (ankle-foot orthosis).

“We built a double upright AFO for him that we built into his shoe and built a custom kind of tibial shell around it to provide him as much support as we could,” Keaton explained. “His right knee needed replacement, so it was very unstable.”

After Joe was discharged from MidAmerica Rehabilitation Hospital, Keaton cast him and fitted him with his first prosthesis in mid-2024. Joe returned to MidAmerica for inpatient therapy to learn to walk with his new prosthetic leg. By all accounts, he was doing remarkably well.

But then complications arose. An infection in Joe’s right knee spread to his lower extremity, ultimately requiring a second amputation and knee replacement.

For Keaton, who has been working in prosthetics and orthotics for roughly five years, helping patients like Joe represents the heart of why he chose this profession.

“Very rewarding,” he said when asked what it felt like to give people a new lease on life. “It gives me a great sense of provision or betterment for an individual’s life, knowing that I was giving them back something that they lost. It gives me such a great sense of fulfillment.”

An Unexpected Roadblock

Just as Joe was preparing to receive prosthetics for both legs, his insurance company denied coverage.

“They denied both of his legs right at the end of the year,” Keaton said. “We didn’t have any time to appeal it because they had adjusted some policy of theirs as to the type of prosthetic feet we were trying to get him, and they had just adjusted it two weeks before that in December. It kind of pigeonholed us.”

For Joe and his wife Lori, who had been paying COBRA insurance premiums since August, the denial was devastating. But people from their church, Living Hope Church, had mentioned an organization called Steps of Faith Foundation.

Steps of Faith Steps In

Steps of Faith Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 2013 that provides prosthetic care to individuals who have lost a limb and don’t have insurance coverage or financial resources. Since its inception, the organization has helped over 1,600 amputees across 44 states, transforming lives by restoring not just mobility, but hope itself.

Marci Theel, Director of Development at Steps of Faith, explained the reality many amputees face: “They need a job to have insurance, and they can’t get a job because they can’t walk or get out the door. It’s just this catch-22, this cycle that we’re just trying to help people escape from to regain not only their mobility but their independence and self-worth.”

The financial burden is staggering. Prosthetic limbs can range from $10,000 to over $100,000, making them financially inconceivable for those without insurance. The organization helps approximately 30 to 40 people annually in Kansas and Missouri alone, with many more in states where Medicaid doesn’t cover prosthetics at all.

What makes Steps of Faith unique is its innovative approach to cost management. The organization asks prosthetists to donate their time while securing highly discounted rates from major prosthetic distributors. For each patient, Steps of Faith orders all brand new supplies while prosthetists like Keaton invest significant time building custom sockets and prosthetics without compensation.

“We’ve cut out all of the middle costs,” Marci explains. “We don’t pay clinics; we don’t pay insurance companies. We just do this as inexpensively as possible but also get supplies that will help set the patient up for success.”

Keaton presented the option to Joe and Lori. “He kind of gave us a rundown on how it worked,” Joe recalled. “He was just like, ‘Go for it.’ I mean, that was amazing, that he cared enough that he was willing to give his time and be a resource like that. You just didn’t find that a lot.”

Steps of Faith approved Joe’s application within three days. The organization was proud to document Joe receiving his prosthetics, a milestone Marci described as rare and deeply emotional.

“It’s a very vulnerable, private moment,” Marci said. “When an amputee receives their prosthetic and gets to take a few steps, it’s always very emotional for everybody. The prosthetist by this point has developed a relationship with the patient, and they know how badly they want this and need this. It’s very hope filled.”

Another reality many people don’t realize prosthetics last roughly four to five years and must be replaced. Yet some insurance plans only cover one prosthetic for a lifetime.

For those who wish to apply for assistance, Steps of Faith offers an application available on their website or by mail. Through more than a decade of dedicated work, the foundation continues to bridge the gap between “no hope” and hope, one step at a time.

The Power of Community

Throughout this ordeal, Joe and Lori have been sustained by community support. Their church, Living Hope Church, and Believe Church, run by Lori’s sister and her husband, rallied around them. Believe Church built a wheelchair ramp into their house, Living Hope Church widened doorways, and Believe Church plans to redo flooring so Joe can navigate more easily.

The role reversal in Joe and Lori’s relationship adds complexity to their story. Before the accident, Joe was Lori’s caregiver after she shattered her pelvis in a 2007 car accident and underwent spine surgery and hip replacement surgery. She’s not supposed to lift more than 10 pounds, yet now she manages Joe’s care largely on her own.

“If it wasn’t for her, I really didn’t know where I would be,” Joe said.

Looking Ahead

Joe’s future remains uncertain, but his optimism remains unshaken. Learning to walk again will be challenging given the extensive damage to both knees, including a reattached left patellar tendon and open fractures.

“I just praised God in everything that I did,” Joe said. “Without Him, I wouldn’t be here. Without Him giving me this amazing support system that I had between my wife and my kids and all the friends and family that we had, I didn’t know where I would be, honestly. It helped keep my spirits up. It helped me keep my sense of humor.”

For now, Joe is focused on the next milestone after receiving his prosthetic legs and taking his first steps toward independence.

“It all came down to hope and the grace of God,” Joe said simply. And for Joe, that’s been more than enough to carry him through.

For more information about rehabilitation services at MidAmerica Rehabilitation Hospital, visit their website at encompasshealth.com or call their Overland Park location at 913.491.2400.