FORT WORTH —
Among other things, Cleburne resident Barry Callaway recently renewed his lifelong passion for golfing.
“The only drawback,” Callaway said, “is that I can still only golf on days that end in a Y.”
Callaway, 51, jokes about it now. Four years ago, and up until recently, things were different.
“Just stupid,” Callaway said, recalling his 2006 accident. “I was doing a wheelie on my motorcycle.”
Active all his life, Callaway raced motocross in his younger days and decided to get back into it in early 2006.
“One week apart,” Callaway said. “I bought [the motorcycle] at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 7, had the accident at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 14. I think I came down crooked, got thrown over the handlebars, hit my head on the curb and woke up in the hospital two months later.”
Callaway described his life before the wreck as “very active.” When not tending to family or work, Callaway, who owns Cleburne Auto Auction, hit the links five times a week.
The accident changed all that.
“Got 25 fractures in my skull,” Callaway said. “Broke my right shoulder; broke my hip. I broke eight ribs on my left side, four on my right. My lung collapsed and I bruised my liver.
“Other than that, I was OK.”
Callaway’s chances looked grave.
“During that first week, especially that first night, doctors were saying he probably wouldn’t make it,” said Tami Callaway, Callaway’s wife. “It’s a miracle. I believe praying for him made the difference. So many prayed for him, and that worked wonders. But it was a long six months while he was away from home.”
A string of hospital stays and physical therapy followed.
“Four years ago, I was basically dead, but I didn’t want to die,” Callaway said. “I should have been six feet under, but the big guy upstairs took care of me. From where I was then to where I am now ... I’ll take now.”
The road back proved rocky. Doctors thought Callaway, who spent two months in a coma, would never talk or walk again because of a brain injury suffered in the crash. Callaway surprised everyone by doing both.
“I couldn’t walk well, though,” Callaway said. “Walked with my leg kicking out, and it tired me out very quickly.”
A discovery last year improved Callaway’s situation.
“My sister called at 7 a.m. and told me to watch [a morning news show],” Callaway said. “Of course, I missed it, but I watched it online.”
A segment on the show profiled a girl who suffered injuries similar to Callaway’s after a snowboarding accident when she was 16. The girl also had trouble walking, until she was 21.
What changed her life, and subsequently, Callaway’s, was a device about the size of an iPod known as a WalkAide, which is worn around the calf.
“I tell people it’s a police monitor, and that if I run off they’ll come arrest me,” Callaway said.
Actually, the WalkAide applies low-level electrical currents to the motor nerve in Callaway’s leg, which instructs his muscles to flex his foot allowing him to walk more normally.
“Historically, people in Callaway’s condition would have used a brace to help them walk,” said Kimberly Ridout, rehabilitation specialist at Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics. “The WalkAide is like a brain in a box. It stimulates the nerves from the brain.”
Callaway found the Fort Worth Hanger location online, where he was later fitted for a WalkAide in September.
The device gained FDA approval four years ago. In Callaway’s case it helps combat a form of paralysis known as foot drop. The device is also used to help others with spinal-cord injuries, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis.
The device fits on the leg with foot drop, or the associated injury, Ridout said. Some patients wear them on both legs. Each device, thanks to a computer program, is custom tailored to the specific patient. The WalkAide uses patented sensor technology called an accelerometer, which is the same motion-tracking technology used in the Wii video gaming system, and transmits signals through a Bluetooth connection.
Callaway continues to work, but he is finished with physical therapy. Callaway still has occasional follow ups to Hanger to monitor his progress, however.
Anna Vasquez, a prosthetist/orthotist with Hanger greeted Callaway as he arrived for his appointment Tuesday and promptly hooked his WalkAide to a computer device to upload information.
“It [uploading information] is kind of like a usage log, showing how much his usage since his last visit on April 1,” Vasquez said. “It shows 236,438 [electrical] stimulations.”
The difference has been night and day, Callaway said.
“They said I’d never walk or talk again, be in a wheelchair the rest of my life,” Callaway said. “Now I walk, and talk way too much.”
Callaway said he also lost his sense of taste and smell in the accident. His sense of taste is back about 70 percent he said, but he still can’t smell.
“My wife says that means I get to change dirty diapers when our grandkids come along,” Callaway said. “That’s not right. I can still remember what that smells like.”
Callaway said he hopes his sense of smell returns but takes it in stride either way.
“I’m not supposed to be here, but I’m glad I am,” Callaway said.
Callaway said he has already visited Cleburne Golf Links about eight times and can’t wait to return. As for motorcycles ...
“Oh, yeah, no more motorcycles,” Tami Callaway said. “His biggest regret was not wearing a helmet that day. And he always wore a helmet, even when skiing, but it just takes that one time.”
On the web:
www.walkaide.com
Local News
Related Photos
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Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics orthotist Anna Vasquez, right, checks the WalkAide on Barry Callaway’s leg while his wife, Tami Callaway, looks on. The device restored Callaway’s ability to walk normally following a 2006 motorcycle accident. Matt Smith/Times-Review
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Thanks to the WalkAide, Cleburne resident Barry Callaway says he’s back to walking all the time, and hitting the golf course regularly. Matt Smith/Times-Review
Discussion
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Standing, from left, are Grandview’s Ryan Breton (offensive most valuable player) and Austin Martinez (Ironman award winner), Alvarado’s Wayne Onderdonck (county MVP) and Brazos Fuller (co-newcomer of the year), Burleson’s Ayinde Alaajiy (co-newcomer of the year), Godley’s Blake Washinton (co-linemen of the year), Alvarado’s Tyler Bates (defensive MVP), Alvarado Head Coach Jeff Dixon (coach of the year) and Grandview’s Davis Scarbrough (co-linemen of the year).
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Indians on top of selections
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Standing, from left, are Grandview’s Ryan Breton (offensive most valuable player) and Austin Martinez (Ironman award winner), Alvarado’s Wayne Onderdonck (county MVP) and Brazos Fuller (co-newcomer of the year), Burleson’s Ayinde Alaajiy (co-newcomer of the year), Godley’s Blake Washinton (co-linemen of the year), Alvarado’s Tyler Bates (defensive MVP), Alvarado Head Coach Jeff Dixon (coach of the year) and Grandview’s Davis Scarbrough (co-linemen of the year).
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Indians on top of selections
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Four of Johnson County’s eight football teams qualified for the postseason in 2011 with Alvarado making it all the way to the Class 3A Division I state championship game at Cowboys Stadium against Tyler Chapel Hill. - First team offense, defense features host of area standouts
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Front, from left, are Grandview’s Caleb Hollingsworth, Cleburne’s Zach Haler, Joshua’s Jordan Garrett, Alvarado’s A.J. Castillo, Xavier Holbert, Kenny Adams and Marcus McNeil, Cleburne’s Conner Martyniuk and Godley’s Drew Benge. Standing, from left, are Alvarado’s Ronald Thomas, C.J. Johnson and Alex Gentrey, Grandview’s Austin Wylie and Caleb Armstrong. Not pictured is Alvarado’s Marcus Villarreal.
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Front, from left, are Grandview’s Caleb Hollingsworth, Cleburne’s Zach Haler, Joshua’s Jordan Garrett, Alvarado’s A.J. Castillo, Xavier Holbert, Kenny Adams and Marcus McNeil, Cleburne’s Conner Martyniuk and Godley’s Drew Benge. Standing, from left, are Alvarado’s Ronald Thomas, C.J. Johnson and Alex Gentrey, Grandview’s Austin Wylie and Caleb Armstrong. Not pictured is Alvarado’s Marcus Villarreal.
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First team offense, defense features host of area standouts
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The first-team offense included Alvarado quarterback Kenny West and Burleson quarterback Barrett Cain. - Cleburne, Grandview, Burleson lead second team offense, defense
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Fallen deputy Clifton Taylor’s sister, Megan Davis, takes a picture of a painting of her brother on Monday during a dedication to the deputy. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office renamed its building to the Clifton Taylor Law Enforcement Center in honor of the deputy who lost his life during a disturbance call in April. The picture was painted by Fort Worth artist Gary Crouch. Three pictures were made and one will hang in the Clifton Taylor Law Enforcement Center. The other two paintings were presented as gifts to Taylor’s parents and his fiancee.
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Never forgotten
The eyes of fallen deputy Clifton Taylor’s family began to swell with tears during a dedication hosted by Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford and the sheriff’s office.
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Never forgotten
