National Runners Seek Out Well-known Okemos Prostheticist

Okemos-based prostheticist Jan Stokosa has earned a reputation for great work that attracts runners from all over the world.

According to excerpts from the article:

Amy Dodson, 46, a fourth-grade teacher who lives in Sahuarita, Ariz., outside of Tucson, has spent much of her winter break in Okemos, working with certified prostheticist Jan Stokosa who built and fit her new, high-tech leg.

[Stokosa's] state-of-the-art lab is known among athletes with disabilities.

The cost of a high-performance leg is $12,000 to $20,000 beyond the cost of a typical leg.

The leg is so precisely fitted that a quarter-turn of a screw in the shaft between foot and leg socket can make a difference in fit.

"A lot of my colleagues will say, 'This is ridiculous, to be so fine in tuning,' " Stokosa said. "But it is like a race car."

Stokosa accompanied Dodson to Toronto in May 2006 when she ran a 50-kilometer (about 31 miles) ultramarathon.

Despite a stop every 5 kilometers to check the device, she finished the race in four hours, 58 minutes.

"I wound up winning my age group, which was so cool!" she said.

Read the entire article here.