Nicklaus is a 16-year old Varsity Athlete at Centralia High School in Centralia, Missouri. He became an amputee in 2003 due to a traumatic accident involving a lawnmower. Nicklaus received his first prosthetic in August 2003. Our family had no real experience or knowledge of what laid ahead so we decided to embrace our new “normal”. This is when it was decided there would be no limitations we just had to decide how to accomplish the tasks differently. Not sure there hasn’t been an activity that Nicklaus hasn’t wanted to try; rodeo, competitive soccer, baseball, basketball, cross country, track and field sports, and wrestling. Competing in the standard and stiff prosthetics that kids normally get made participating in these activities that much harder. As an athlete they are not able to compete at the level they want. They have to work hard and many times with no return from their prosthetic. The first time the family heard about Amputee Blade Runners (ABR) was at the 2014 NubAbility Camp. This is where Nicklaus was introduced to the All-Pro foot. The All-Pro was a game changer to the day-to-day activates for Nicklaus.
Nicklaus didn’t apply to ABR till the end of 2015 after he started running Cross Country in High School. Our family reached out to the ABR first just to have a conversation after Nicklaus was frustrated with his inability to compete at the level he wanted to. After talking with their team and others it was decided that this was the best route for Nicklaus. In July 2016, Nicklaus received his first set of legs from ABR. This visit was not just about the prosthetics but the education that went along with this process was unlike anything else we had ever received. This trip started our family on a whole new adventure. Since receiving his first blade from ABR he has cut approximately 12-minutes since his first race. He continues to succeed with High School Varsity Wrestling, thanks to a special shoe that ABR help design. Nicklaus is always looking forward to helping someone another individual!