Welland dad learns to walk on prosthetic leg to walk his daughter down the aisle

Rainer Jaschke even danced with his daughter - just 3 weeks after getting a prosthetic leg

Image | Rainer and Laura Jaschke

Caption: "He worked so hard," says Laura Jaschke, whose dad Rainer learned to walk with a new prosthetic leg in about a month so he could walk her down the wedding aisle. "He was practicing. He was pushing himself." (Laura Jaschke)

They don't remember the faces of the audience members. They don't remember what wedding music was playing, or who was crying. All Rainer Jaschke and his daughter Laura remember is this: he was walking her down the aisle.
Surgeons had amputated the Welland man's leg just seven months earlier, and he was only three weeks into using his first prosthesis. Doctors told him he'd never be ready in time for Laura's April 28 wedding, but after days of grueling therapy, he proved them wrong.
The details of the grand moment are mostly a blur now, Laura says. It's possible that guests wiped away tears, and cameras flashed. Everyone at the 70-guest wedding knew the magnitude of that moment.
But "I really can only go by the pictures," she said. "I was not paying attention to everyone else."

Image | Rainer and Laura Jaschke

Caption: Rainer Jaschke's next goal is to "take my dog for a walk with my wife," he says. "That’s all that’s really left for me. My goal was to be able to walk my daughter down the aisle, and go for walks with my wife and my dog." (Laura Jaschke)

"We kind of looked at each other like, 'We're doing this.'"
The journey down the aisle was a triumphant chapter for the retired electrician, who lost his leg suddenly in the fall.
Jaschke, 59, has been diabetic for about 20 years. Early last year, he noticed what looked like a blister on the bottom of his foot.
He saw numerous doctors, he said, including two emergency room visits where medical staff told him he was fine.

Image | Rainer and Laura Jaschke

Caption: "I’m lost for words for what they’ve done for me," says Rainer Jaschke of the Hamilton Health Sciences team. (Laura Jaschke)

On the third visit, he was admitted to Grimsby's West Lincoln Memorial Hospital, and within four days, was transferred to Hamilton General Hospital.
Doctors amputated his leg at the knee, he said, but he was too sick to remember much about it. "It was like a landslide coming down on me. It was so fast."
But "I was told it was life or limb. I chose life."
Right away though, Rainer worried about the wedding. He'd always dreamed of walking Laura down the aisle. He met with doctors five months ago and told them his goal was to do just that in April. They told him it would never happen.

Image | Rainer and Laura Jaschke

Caption: "I think his next obstacle is just carrying on living a fulfilling life despite the challenge," says Laura Jaschke of her dad Rainer. (Laura Jaschke)

On April 4, he met with Dr. Sharon Grad, medical director of prosthetics and orthotics at Hamilton Health Sciences, and her team at the Regional Rehabilitation Centre on April 4. From the beginning, Grad said, Jaschke's stated goal was clear.
"People look at me and say, 'I want to walk,'" she said. "For him, it was 'I want to walk my daughter down the aisle."
Usually, the progress Jaschke required takes twice as long, but Grad knew he was motivated. Laura, a mechanical engineer who lives in Hamilton's east end, was even trying to make a prosthesis using a 3D printer. It wasn't her area of expertise, but she was willing to try.
It wasn't needed. Rainer worked with a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist and other members of Grad's team. "It was really, truly a team effort," Grad said.

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It paid off that April afternoon at the Cotton Factory. When Laura pulled up in the car, she said, she got out to find a beaming dad. He used a walker that day, but he was on his feet.
At the reception, the pair even danced together to Nancy Sinatra's "It's For My Dad."(external link)
Jaschke's next goal? To be able to walk his dog with his wife.
"Even though his moment or our moment is over, he's still persevering," Laura said.
"He is my best friend."

Image | Rainer Jaschke

Caption: The Hamilton Health Sciences team cast Rainer Jaschke's prosthesis within a week so he could meet his wedding day target. (Hamilton Health Sciences/Vimeo)