GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Rodney Fisher’s life changed indefinitely nearly three years ago when he lost his left leg in a car accident and said he almost lost his life. Then, it changed again when he lost that prosthetic replacement while kayaking on the Muskegon River a few weeks ago.
Fortunately, one West Michigan woman found that leg, and contacted FOX 17 to help find the owner.
“We thought it was a megaphone,” that woman, Stacey Nickerson, said about first seeing the prosthetic in the water.
Nickerson reunited Fisher with his leg at Cherry Street Park in Grand Rapids.
“A little dirty now isn’t it?” Fisher joked upon receiving the leg.
Fisher was in a severe car crash on Nov. 29, 2009 that he says he will never forget. After months of physical therapy, he received the prosthetic leg at Mary Free Bed. This was the same clinic that helped confirm he was the owner when he initially reached out to us after Nickerson found the leg.
Fisher had fallen into the water along with his lifeline which he said is worth more than $10,000.
“The big thing is when I got back to shore, I had no leg… standing, my crutches were back at the campground. I had to hop all the way to my truck,” he chuckled.
Fortunately the lower, more expensive part of the leg was strapped in his boat. Fisher said his prosthetic allows him to maintain his independence. Without it he’s limited.
For two weeks, he`s had to rely on a test socket. It’s an electronic one that he can`t take on the water.
A week after fisher’s kayaking trip, Nickerson said she and her friends were canoeing on the Muskegon River and spotted something floating waist deep.
Fisher said a friend contacted him after seeing FOX 17’s broadcast Sunday night.
“[My friend] called me, and I’m sitting in bed, getting ready to go to bed. He says, ‘Dude, you got to check on FOX 17 online, your socket’s on there!’” Fisher recalled.
Fisher said he went online and found the article about his prosthetic during the newscast. “[I] emailed [FOX 17], and you called me like 5 minutes later,” he chuckled.
Fisher got his socket back, and Nickerson got the satisfaction of solving that Muskegon River mystery.
“Not that many people in this world are admirable enough to do something like that anymore,” Fisher told Nickerson.
