Five Amputees Who Made a Difference in 2024

This is the fifth year we’ve published this annual list, and all the usual disclaimers apply. In case you’ve forgotten: We don’t mean to suggest that these are the five biggest difference makers in Limb Loss Land. They’re just a representative sampling of the innumerable amputees who made invaluable impacts this year in your families, communities, and beyond. It’s just not possible to recognize everyone who deserves it.

To see the lists from 2020 through 2023, scroll down to the bottom. Here’s our list for 2024.

Nicole Ver Kuilen

In her second year at the helm of the So Every BODY Can Move Campaign, ver Kuilen wrangled prosthetic insurance reform bills to passage in three more states (Minnesota, Maryland, and New Hampshire), bringing the national total to eight. Behind the scenes, she organized limb-loss advocates in another dozen or two states, equipping them for success with trainings, talking points, and a robust grassroots organizing kit. Most impressive, ver Kuilen helped knit activists from all over the country into a unified movement with a true sense of solidarity. She’ll keep chasing legislative wins in 2025 and beyond from her new perch at the Amputee Coalition. We’ll keep tracking the various bills’ journeys through committees and floor votes when lawmakers reconvene in January.

Jakob Kepka

A Canadian citizen and US Marine Corps veteran of Polish ancestry, Kepka worked his butt off this year on behalf of Ukrainian war amputees. He pedaled several hundred miles on one leg (he’s been an AK amputee since 2016) from Krakow to Kyiv, stopping at cities and towns along the way to lift spirits, inspire hope, and raise funds for wounded veterans. Kepka’s four-week HopeRaising Expedition made international headlines, while bringing him into direct contact with hundreds of amputees, prosthetists, family members, and others in Ukraine’s limb-loss support network. “Recovery from limb loss is 10 percent physical, 90 percent mental,” Kepka told Amplitude. “If you decide you’re going to do something, you do it. Other people might think your goals are illogical or irrational, but they’re your goals.”

Xiaojun Sun

Sun’s pioneering prosthesis, the Bio Leg, gained insurance coding approval in 2024, becoming the first fully integrated, power-driven, AI-assisted prosthetic leg to reach the US market. Manufactured by Tokyo-based BionicM, the Bio Leg leapfrogged the Ottobock-backed Utah Bionic Leg, which at this time last year was widely viewed as the industry leader in this groundbreaking category. An AK amputee since surviving childhood cancer, Sun didn’t own a prosthesis until he reached graduate school, at which point he started working on the Bio Leg. He spent most of 2024 making the rounds at O&P trade shows and educational conferences, capping off the year with a prestigious Innovation Award from CES.

Ezra Frech

Start with two Paralympic gold medals, including an upset victory in the 100 meters (T63). Add a new world record in the high jump. Toss in a track scholarship to the University of Southern California, the first ever awarded to an above-knee amputee by an NCAA Division 1 school. Those achievements alone might be enough to get Frech onto this list. But he made his greatest impact away from competition, as a high-profile ambassador for adaptive sports and disability rights. “I want to use the platform I’ve built through track and field to create lasting change for the disabled community,” he said in a USC news release. Frech’s Angel City Sports creates opportunities for disabled athletes to participate in sports year-round, and he’s making inroads in the fashion, entertainment, and media realms too.

Cairn Atkinson

We always knew Atkinson (better known as Flamingo Florence, her Instagram / pinup incarnation) touched a lot of lives. But we didn’t realize the extent or depth of her impact until this spring, when she died after a recurrence of cancer. Memories and tributes came pouring in from all over the country, as people (both with and without disabilities) described how Atkinson had befriended, encouraged, enlightened, or otherwise lifted them up. Her family still has medical bills to pay off; you can make a donation at GoFundMe.