BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 9 (UPI) -- A Maryland man who spent the last 25 years in anger over losing his left arm is set to embark on a white-water kayaking adventure with a special prosthetic arm.
Willie Stewart, 43, lost his arm up to the bicep in a roofing accident at Washington's Watergate Hotel when he was 18, leading to years of depression.
"I had a bad attitude," he told USA Today.
That's all changed since a special "kayaking arm" was designed and built by orthotics and prosthetics clinical manager Michael Davidson at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California.
Wednesday, Stewart is set to embark on a 20-day kayaking trip through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River after training with his new arm.
"Obviously, it's needed to do things like steer and propel and make (the kayak) go, but it's real critical should he flip over, upside-down. He needs two arms to be able to get back upright so he doesn't drown," Davidson said.
