Flying Legs:
My Day in the Park
By Dan Adragna
My friend Brian called one day to ask if I’d like to join him and his two young boys for a day in the park—amusement park that is. When we arrived at Great America in
After leaving the boys with their recreational leader, we headed straight for the Invertigo ride, a rollercoaster which gets up to 55 mph, does corkscrews, and then 360’s for additional exhilaration. This is going to be great, I thought.
When our car came forward, I soon realized the seating arrangement. It sat four people—Brian on my right, a young girl facing me, with her dad facing Brian. Once settled in, a large retaining bar came over our heads and onto our lap to snuggly hold us in. Without a floor to rest my legs on, they simply dangle like a couple of broken tree limbs. Within seconds, we’re whipped out of the chute at breakneck speed.
Immediately, a giddy smile graces my face as the thrill of speed is invigorating. Did I mention I have two below-knee prosthetic legs? Don’t get ahead of me…
As we enter the top half of the first 360, I feel my right leg begin to slip a bit, but I wasn’t able to reach it. Within seconds, both legs pop off and go flying through the air! “Clickity-clank, clickity-clank” as they bounce off other cars and metal structures. Now, the bottom of my nylon workout pants are flapping wildly in the breeze as Brian and I burst out in uncontrolled laughter!!
Remember the young girl sitting across from me? Well, she is starring at where my legs once were with her jaw stuck wide open! Her father is trying not to laugh and comfort her at the same time. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally finish the ride laughing out loud all the while. The girl still has a look of shock upon her face and is hardly able to move. Dad finally pries her away from her seat.
As we sat there, I turned to Brian to say, “Brian, go get my legs. I’m not going anywhere.” Remarkably, they are within 20 feet from where we came to rest. Brian gathers and brings them over to me. I slip them on, stand up, and happily walk away.
I soon notice my left foot is loose at my “ankle.” Don’t you hate when that happens? Plus, my right “knee” has a long crack on it. So, we hobble over to the nearest concession shop and ask them to call for first aid service. Two guys rush over with medical bags to find us sitting on an outside bench and ask if I’m OK. I show them my loose foot and cracked knee so they wrap them with first aid tape and off we go to enjoy the remainder of the day!
