Published: April 16, 2008 10:56 pm            

Friends & Neighbors: Mark Stubbs

“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology.” — Oscar Goldman in the opening sequence of “The Six Million Dollar Man”



No, he isn’t Oscar Goldman, but Mark Stubbs of Stubbs Orthotics and Prosthetics says what once existed only in the minds of Hollywood writers is now a reality. Good-bye wooden legs, hello bionics.

Stubbs, 47, began working in orthotics and prosthetics during the summers at age 12 alongside his dad, Bill. But after graduating from Georgia Cumberland Academy in Calhoun, he wasn’t sure he wanted to make it his career.

“I thought I might want to be a teacher, so I got a degree in special ed from Chattanooga State,” said Stubbs. “But I realized I really liked working with my hands and working with people, so I decided to go back into it.”

Stubbs obtained his orthotics and prosthetics certification from Northwestern University in Chicago and never looked back. In 1981, he and his parents opened Stubbs Orthotics and Prosthetics in Chattanooga. When his father retired eight years ago, Stubbs and his wife, Melanie, bought the business. They opened a satellite office in Dalton in 2003.

The couple met in high school but didn’t start dating until later.

“We were best friends, and the friendship just grew. The more we got to know each other, the more it seemed like a good partnership,” he said. “I think that behind every good business there’s a partner who’s a big help, and she is to me. I see patients and she handles all of the billing and office stuff.”

They married in 1983 and have one daughter, Stacey, a junior at Collegedale (Tenn.) Academy.

Stubbs has seen plenty of tragic cases in his years of practice. Perhaps the worst is a burn patient who is a real-life “bionic man.”

“He lost both arms at the shoulder level from an electrical accident,” Stubbs said. “He worked at the Electric Power Board (in Chattanooga) on the poles. I sent him to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago at Northwestern University. They’re the best in the field in upper extremity prosthetics.”

On top of learning how to use an artificial limb, amputees have to deal with the psychological implications of losing a part of their body.

“Limb loss is like losing a loved one. There’s lots of depression,” said Stubbs. “I try to help patients have a positive outlook. They’re going to have good days and bad days. I have an amputee who may have lost the same limb come in to talk with patients and help them get through the trauma.”

Today’s technological advances make the transition easier.

“Technology has changed a lot, particularly in the last 10 to 15 years. We were still doing Civil War prosthetics up to then, like wooden legs and peg legs,” Stubbs said. “We’re in the world of computers now and getting into bionics.”

One example is the C-Leg, which has plug-in computer ports that can be used to program the knee with a laptop. The computer measures a person’s gait 50 times per second while the patient is walking. Stubbs said it’s safer because the chance of falling is greatly lessened. The one drawback? The cost — $45,000.

Stubbs also conducts an amputee clinic twice a month at the V.A. Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tenn. He says he’s seeing a lot of soldiers who are coming back from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and they continually amaze him.

“Soldiers don’t quit, they don’t give up,” Stubbs said. “When all of them were going to Walter Reed (Army Medical Center), their therapy was so strenuous and they were in great shape. Trying to meet their expectations is the hardest thing, making it comfortable for them because they’re so tough.”

Stubbs remains mindful of the sacrifices the soldiers have made for our country, and a wall at his main office in Chattanooga prominently features a tribute to them.

“I just look at what they’ve done for us and I want to help them any way I can,” he said.

Stubbs finds his work psychologically frustrating at times but also extremely rewarding and challenging.

“My biggest reward is getting a handshake or hug from patients and them telling me I did a good job,” he said. “That’s the biggest thrill you can get in this field.”

He also enjoys spending time with his family on their farm in McDonald, Tenn., and riding motorcycles. Stacey is eyeing a career in nursing rather than following in her father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, which is OK with her dad.

“I think she’s going to want to make a home rather than be at the office 24/7 like I am,” he said.

        

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