Sam Cila and A Step Ahead Prosthetics on Sesame Street

Sam Cila and A Step Ahead Prosthetics will be featured in a Sesame Street special entitled “Coming Home: Military Families Cope with Change”. The show will focus on military families who are coping with a mom or dad who have been injured in the war. The how airs Wednesday, April 1st at 8 PM nationwide on PBS. To see a preview of the show go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QoOlBjXESU

Sam Cila of Riverhead, New York joined the New York National Guard shortly after the September 11th attacks. Trained as a sniper, he quickly rose to the rank of Sergeant as a member of the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment. On July 4th, 2005, Sam was wounded in an IED blast while on patrol just outside of the Green Zone in Baghdad. Near death, Sam’s life was saved by the quick reactions of his platoon medic who stabilized his wounds and evacuated him for further care.

Within days of his injury, Sam was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. where he underwent more than 40 surgeries. The severe blast wounds that Sam sustained to the left side of his body left him with limited left arm mobility and no use of his left hand.

After consultations with physicians and the staff of A Step Ahead Prosthetics, Sam made the decision to undergo amputation of his left hand. On January 22, four weeks after his amputation Sam received his myoelectric prosthesis with the i-Limb hand, a Sensor Speed hand with a Skin Tones custom silicone skin cover, a Greifer hand, and a custom terminal device for cycling. Sam is an avid cyclist and triathelte who competes in road racing and multiple distance triathlons including the ½ Ironman.