Leg Up 2.0 Winner Scottie McDonald

Winner of the GoHawkeye Foundation LegUp 2.0 contest, Scottie McDonald.

Scottie McDonald from Dallas, TX. is the winner of the Leg Up 2.0 contest for the multi-use BTKCrossover Knee and a Rocky Mountain outdoor experience in beautiful Telluride, Colorado. This mechanical multi-sport knee allows activities from everyday walking to year round competitive sports with a few simple editions and adjustments. It was donated by Warren Daniel and Josh Klein from Smugglers Brew Pub in Telluride. Designed by professional above the knee(AK) mountain biker Brian Bartlett and built by Fabtech Systems, this knee does it all.

In the aftermath of a car wreck at the age of 20, Scottie lost his right leg. “Surviving the car wreck was difficult, but the subsequent life changing consequences of this injury became even more of a challenge. I spent weeks in the hospital thinking about what I had lost. Having always been active and passionate about sports, losing my leg as well as sustaining the other injuries made me feel as if I would never have the opportunity to be athletic or maintain that competitive fire that drove me. I was haunted by thoughts of the only person I had seen before with an amputation, a man who attended my church when I was five or six years old. This man used crutches to get around and did not use a prosthesis, thus creating mistaken assumptions about life post amputation.” But  Scottie wouldn’t let these thoughts define him.

Scottie McDonald water skiing.

Scottie wrote, “I began to recover from my physical injuries over the next couple of weeks and learned about prosthetic devices and their application.   It took approximately nine months for me to rehabilitate to the point where I could walk again and return to where I was headed before the night of car wreck, my sophomore year of college.  After graduating from college, I earned my MBA and am presently a Director at the company where I work in Dallas Texas. Although the prosthesis played a critical part in my return to “normal life” it was the encouragement and support of my family and friends that got me through, and everything I have or hope to accomplish is owed to them.” He continued, “As I continued to become adept at daily tasks with my prosthesis, my desire to return to sports and outdoor activity returned as well.”

Scottie Tarpon fishing.

He began three track skiing and using his prosthetic to get outdoors, however Scottie found that his prosthetic was limiting when used for many outdoor sport activities that he enjoyed especially by not being waterproof. Activities like waterskiing, duck hunting, fishing, whitewater rafting and cave tubing had to be modified as a result but that didn’t stop him.

“Over the years, I have just learned to make do and as they say, play the hand that God dealt me.” -Scottie McDonald

Scottie on zip line.

GoHawkeye is proud to help improve Scottie’s “hand” by awarding this incredible waterproof knee to help him pursue his goals through adaptive sports, especially water sports. It will allow him to participate and compete in these activities as well as land activities on two legs. Scottie wrote, “Participation in adaptive sports has not only given me back my freedom, it has also taught me that I can keep that competitive edge that I felt was lost so long ago. ”  

Carry on Scottie, be it on land, snow, water or in the air!