“I’m too young to just sit around and watch Oprah,” said Pater, 44, whose gait seems nearly perfect, thanks to the mile-long walks he takes with his new border collie every morning and evening.
Fellow plumber Scott Jacobson of Lebanon, who works for Universal Plumbing and Piping, said he was impressed with Pater as the two worked together on the basement project.
“He’s proving you can do it, but it’s not easy,” Jacobson said. “It’s not easy at all.”
In June, 2015, Pater fell 10 feet while working at a business, snapping his tibia and fibula of his left leg. Surgeries repaired that damage, but a bone infection jeopardized his life, so his leg was amputated below the knee Oct. 5.
Kim Nartker, owner of Stretch Physical Therapy and Total Wellness in West Chester Twp., said Pater’s rehabilitation was an inspiration to her staff.
“I’m not super strong,” but that’s improving, Pater said. “The guy at the supply house told me I have no excuses. On the Internet he saw a guy squatting 500 pounds with one of these. It’s up to me, you know what I mean?”
“After all that, I’ve got no doctors calling me, no bills,” Pater said. “I kept my house payment up, kept my car payment up, and that was thanks to a network of friends.”
Those friends put on a 120-person golf outing and created a GoFundMe page that raised $5,000 to help with his medical bills.
To contact Ryan Pater Plumbing for its services, call 513-203-3000.
His advice for people who find themselves in a similar situation?
“Some of the best words that my prosthetic guy told me was what Nike says, ‘Just do it,’ ” he said. “You’ve got to do just whatever. You’ve got to push yourself through it, and it is what it is.”
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