Student invents physical therapy device to save foot after motorcycle accident with drunk driver

By Jenny Beckman

Entrepreneur, UH-Clear Lake student, husband and father are some of the titles attributed to Darell Rodgers. Feb. 8, 2002, drunk driving victim was added to that list. After being life-flighted to Herman Hospital, Darell woke up disoriented and naked except for his boots. Even with a contusion to his lungs, Darell was in great condition for someone who had just been hit by a drunk driver while on his motorcycle; at least, that was what the doctors thought until they took off his right boot. Physicians stared down at the mangled pile of flesh and bones in alarm. Amputation was never an option for Darell. For his first eight days in the hospital, Darell had surgery everyday to remove bone fragments. All the while, his doctors consulted with each other on the best course of action on how to repair Darell's severed arteries and nerves. In order to get blood supply to the dead foot, the surgeons needed to revalve Darell's arteries and repair the nerve damage. If properly aligned, nerves have the capability to seek out their original path and reattach. After the tiny shards of bones were removed, Darell had muscle cut out of his stomach, leaving a scar similar to a C-section, and about a foot of skin was sliced from his upper thigh in order to secure the muscle tissue applied to the ankle. Drilling pins through Darell's foot and leg allowed an external fixator to hold his bones in place. After two weeks, Darell was able to feel his big toe, proving the damaged nerves were reattaching. After demonstrating to his doctors that he could walk with crutches, he was allowed to go home under the supervision of a home health care nurse. A few days later, an infection developed and Darell was rushed back to the hospital for emergency surgery. Because he landed in a ditch when the drunk driver struck his motorcycle, dirt and contaminated water had infected his bones. The external fixator was removed, and again, Darell was faced with more surgeries. After staying in the hospital for another week, Darell was allowed to leave with a mainline heart catheter. Self-infusing himself morning and night with tough antibiotics, Darell was often nauseated and weak, but still tried to work from home. Despite throbbing pain in his foot, ongoing surgeries and large dosages of medication, Darell kept working. Darell, the president of Rodgers Enterprises, Inc., develops software and is presently working towards his bachelor of science in Management Information Systems. Wayne Young, an adjunct professor at UH-Clear Lake, had the privilege of witnessing Darell's leadership skills in class. "Darell clearly shows an element of perseverance," said Young. "I was so impressed when I found out what he had been through." With such a busy lifestyle, it was hard for Darell to keep his physical therapy appointments. The resourceful software developer created a physical therapy device he could use at home to help his ankle regain its range of motion. He coined the phrase "puppet theory" to explain how the device works. "Wherever you pull the steering wheel whose cords are attached to a platform, where the foot is affixed, you will attain a range of motion," Darell said. "I was determined that the next time I went back to my physician, that I was going to walk in there." The doctor actually came out of another patient's room after seeing Darell walk by and starred at him in disbelief. He could not believe that Darell was already walking. Darell's invention is undergoing biomechanical testing with a patent pending. Darell hopes his invention will bring hope to other physical therapy patients. Throughout his ordeal, Darell drew strength and inspiration from a close friend. "What made me stay positive is that I have a friend that was run over by a train and is missing both of his legs," Darell reflected. "I have always believed that there is always someone worse off than you are. I don't care how bad you think you are, there is somebody worse off than you. If you have this mind set, then it is a cake walk." Darell retired from riding his motorcycle after the accident. "I have gotten a lot of calls from people that have been in motorcycle wrecks. They couldn't believe that I recovered like I did, with all of the damage," Darell declared. "I always believe that if you maintain a positive attitude about all of this, then you are going to recover a lot faster." After a total of fourteen surgeries, Darell still has pain in his foot. However, you wouldn't know it by looking at him. Sitting on an oversized chair wearing black, smiley-face slippers, Darell holds his 7-month-old son Dakota as his wife Katie looks on. Darell is sure of one thing -he'll never take walking hand-in-hand with his son for granted.