Content provided by the NY Times, March 14, 2017
East Meadow, N.Y. — Dan Lasko, a broad-shouldered former Marine wearing green-trimmed blue swim goggles, emerged from the locker room at Nassau County Aquatic Center, ready to hit the pool with a brand new leg. It was the first time in years that he would be able to stride from the pool deck into the water without having to remove his reliable prosthesis, the one with an Asics sneaker attached, then hopping one-legged on the slippery deck to get in.
Since 2004, when an explosion in Afghanistan shredded the lower part of his left leg, his swimming routine had involved some degree of acrobatics. But now that Mr. Lasko, 34, from Bethlehem, Pa., is the father of two water-loving boys, ages 2 and 6, he has been dreaming of climbing in and out of the pool with them with ease. (Anyone who has ever held a squirmy toddler while hopping into the shallow end of a pool can relate.)
And until now, as a longtime triathlete, he had mostly relied on his arms for the first part of his swim-bike-runs. He couldn’t wait to use a water-friendly prosthesis that would match the power of his intact right leg.
The new leg Mr. Lasko would be testing had a jet-black foot with a nonslip tread on its sole, which he described as “awesome” even before entering the water. His excitement was palpable from the first whiff of chlorine.
