ALLENDALE, Mich. — A father who lost his leg in an explosion that leveled the barn behind his home is back on his feet. Carl Beintema was fitted for his first prosthetic leg a week ago, and is now working to get acclimated to the new appendage.
It was back on the evening of December 23, 2022, when Carl was working on a project inside their family barn.
He would work on different projects back there, building a log splitter on the night everything changed.
“I put my earplugs in, I grabbed my safety glasses, grabbed some leather gloves, and I don't think I hit that grinder for half a minute... All of a sudden, it was just a boom,” he told FOX 17 back in February.
As fast as Carl could begin calling for help, his wife Ashleigh was dragging him out of the burning structure.
He would spend 49 days in hospitals and doing rehab at Mary Free Bed, and go home on February 10, 2023, to a group of loved ones and supporters gathered in front of his house.
Up until a week ago, he was using a wheelchair to get around. He is now getting comfortable with his first prosthetic leg.
“You just take it one step at a time. You don't have to conquer the whole thing in a day,” Carl told FOX 17 on Wednesday.
“When I got out, it was still a lot to learn everything. You're coming into a whole new place... so, you gotta learn how to get in and out of these chairs, and the bathroom here.”
He has had regular at-home physical therapy sessions with Lauren Lenca of Mary Free Bed.
“Carl not only had an amputation, but had fractures on his other leg, had dislocated his shoulder, had skin grafts… his left knee and ankle were both really weak and tight on that side,” Lenca explained on Wednesday.
“Every time I come, he says 'OK, I want to do this today,' or 'This is what I'm working towards.' It's never 'Ugh, whatever you want to do'.”
She has been working to get Carl comfortable with his new prosthetic leg.
On Wednesday, Carl made several laps around his kitchen before venturing down the ramp recently installed in his garage.
“I’ve been going after everything I want to do in life. You know, you just got to keep a positive head,” he said.
His life goals and aspirations for his family have only grown since the accident in the barn.
“When you have the down sides pushing you down, just stand up and keep on going, keep on moving, keep your head up,” he said.
Carl is already looking ahead to the end of summer when he plans to return to his job.
“The upside to doing this and working to get back to work, I will be home with my family for the summer.”
