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Nick Tomecek / AP
Matt Willingham, owner of the shrimp boat Michele Dawn, looks for identifying features on a prosthetic leg at his dock in Valparaiso, Fla.
A man who lost his $30,000 prosthetic leg while swimming Memorial Day weekend plans to get it back Monday thanks to a Florida shrimp boat captain.
Matt Willingham, who owns the Michele Dawn shrimp boat and Willingham Seafood, told the Northwest Florida Daily News that he thought he had caught a body when he first saw a foot about 2:30 a.m. Thursday while shrimping in the Choctawhatchee Bay between Fort Walton Beach and Destin. Then he realized that the foot was part of a prosthetic limb.
"We've caught (portable toilets), boat trailers and crab traps," Willingham told the Daily News. "This was the first to catch a prosthetic leg."
The Soleus limb wore a Keen water sandal in what appeared to be a size 9 or 10, the Daily News reported.
The leg is emblazoned with the logo, motto and wildcat mascot from the University of Kentucky airbrushed on the molded knee. It came up in Willingham’s turtle excluder, the Daily News reported. Willingham said that if the limb had been in the water longer, it would have been covered with barnacles.
Willingham reached out to local media and authorities, who thought the worst.
Fred Robinson, a Crestview, Fla., resident and native of Radcliff, Ky., stepped forward to claim his leg.
"Ain’t nobody dead," Robinson said, according to WildcatWorld.com. "Just give me back my leg."
Robinson lost the prosthetic limb while out boating, WildcatWorld reported. When Robinson jumped out of the boat to swim, the water current sucked the prosthetic limb out from under him and out of his reach before he could gain control of it. He had given up all hope of ever seeing the leg, he told the WildcatWorld.
Robinson, who played for the University of Kentucky football team in the '80s, lost his natural leg to a work-related accident in 2007 and had moved to Florida recently to continue his recovery, WildcatWorld reported.
He was scheduled to pick up the leg Friday, but his reunion with it was delayed to Monday.
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Leave a Comment:
Wow, the guy could have been a little more grateful for the fisherman going to the trouble of finding who it belonged to. All he could say is "Give me back my leg"? I'm hoping this was just the journalists perspective and a poor light on the amputee....otherwise he comes off like a jerk.
The guy was very grateful that his leg was found. There's more complete information about this story elsewhere. Consider the source of this story: By msnbc.com staff
He had to be joking or kidding around with that comment ....
Trying to make light of the situation ....
The fisherman should throw in a box of his shrimp ....
And Fred should give that fisherman a reward ....
Forrest Gump: "And that's all how we become Bubba Stump Shrimp."
Goes to show that whatever is a part of your body, though artificial, should have your name on it somewhere, so it would be possible to be returned.
My retainer in my mouth has my name on it, in case, I left it somewhere.
Lt. Dan!!! I found your leg........
Quoting the article:
REPLY: Um, I think you probably mean HOPPED forward.
Rather than all the logos I'd have had my name on a $30,000 leg.
Ain't no body dead is the best you can do?? I saw your leg out in the bay, go find it!!
Well, this shrimper had a leg up on his competition.
Sorry that was the best I could do.
Well I've heard of getting your sea legs, but this is ridiculous
I got a real "kick" out of this story.
the owner doesn't have a leg to stand on...
now he doesn't have to lean on his friends...ok, sorry
The back story is that the owner of the prosthetic leg, as an expression of his gratitude, treated the shrimp fisherman to a seafood dinner at IHOP.
"Ain't nobody dead, now give me back my leg."
Wow. Doesn't speak very well of the University of Kentucky, now does it? I'll bet they are proud of this alumni.
OTOH, it doesn't say he ever matriculated.
I'd question the wisdom of wearing a $30K custom-made prosthetic while swimming in open water, but perhaps after possibly receiving a handsome settlement for his work-related injury, Mr. "Just give me back my leg" Robinson doesn't have to worry about such things.
How would he get into the water to swim without his prosthetic leg . . . .? Have someone wheel him down and dump him in . . . ? Please . . ....
I'll bet the salt water is really good for it considering how salt rots out car bodies up north.
I know someone whose leg was amputated at the hip when he was a child. He hops on the beach. He's spent his life hopping so it's nothing to do it while going into the water.
Did I read this sprimper found a toilet? I lost my toilet near that spot. Couldn't afford a boat and used my toilet as a floating device. Let this be a warning: Toilets don't float!!!!!!!
From the peanut gallery of knowledge.
Actually, portable toilets DO float (I've seen them floating while I've been out kayaking). You must have been using yours improperly.
Didn't you read the statement on your portable toilet - "Not to be used as a flotation device"? It's right there on all of them...
Hee Hee!
You never saw the movie "Cast Away"??
BAYYYY KERZ FEEEEELD ?!!!! I know that!!!
I suppose alcohol had nothing to do with this....
Well actually they say he drinks like he has a hollow leg...
A big nice thank you for finding the leg would have been nice. If I was that fishermen and i found out thats what was said, I would throw the damn thing back in the bay and tell the one legged freak to go retrieve it himself. Ungreatfull a$$hole!!!! I wouldnt be in the water with a $30,000 fake leg to begin with, Alcohol had to be involved.
Great story!
The manufacturer info and serial number were on my father's artificial leg. It could have been tracked back to the owner through the manufacturer.
Gawd, I love America!!!!
The ungrateful SOB should be happy someone found the leg cause his stupidity lost it in the first place.
Just goes to prove that you can indeed get a leg up if you just keep casting your line out there.
(Sorry, couldn't resist)
He got a leg up on that one
I think. Fred Robinson, Should have told Matt Willingham, owner of the shrimp boat, To hurry up and shake a leg.
he might take awhile cause the dude only has 1 leg to stand on....Shrimp boat does as a Shrimp does...
At least this was good news instead of another story of body parts washing up.
Decent people do the right thing,plain and simple..The captain is a man of honor and did the right thing.The owner is a man that spent half the price of a modest home to buy a leg. I don't think anything other than a thank you and a you're welcome is protocol for genuine people. Rewards and accolades are necessary for those needy of attention for a good deed to accentuate their persona. True good deeds go unregognized,that how it works,period.
Makes a good Human Interest Story for the news,undoubtedly,too bad it is not as frequent as the "Shock Value" news stories. I actually think no one cares and just wants to hear all the reports of bad and schocking things in the papers and the TV News.
Do a story on a good thing and no one talks about it by the water cooler the next day..
Glad it didn't end up on my plate of fried shrimp!
-coauthor, "The Suck of Work"
That leg could have washed up in the Middle East and some Imam would have incited rioting over the (supposed) death of an American infidel. Maybe he needs a stampede string on it to keep track next time.
Nice attempt at bringing politics into this story, but since you didn't use the required names 'Bush' or 'Obama' you get only 2 Troll Posting Points (out of a possible 100).
:-)
Never know what you'll catch in the ocean blue. Caught a pelican once...helluva fight! Yes, I did retrieve and release at the expense of my arm getting gnawed on. Dang birds have some sharp teeth!
Now the guy can kick himself in a butt for losing the leg
At first I thought this story might be mildly amusing, given the fact that it reminded me of "Forrest Gump" sort of. So I read on hoping to find something goog natured in and of itself with a funny, happy, or at least, an amicable finish. Then I realized that some guy who had lost his "LEG" in the ocean, seems like he could give a @!$%# less about losing his leg in the ocean!! I thought to myself, WTF out loud in my mind, why am I doing this? Why am I reading this @!$%#in' article? If this @!$%#in' guy, doesn't care about his @!$%#in' leg, why should I @!$%#in' care about his @!$%#in' leg? MSNBC, you riled me up once again to the point of reciprocal, non-essential drivel. Why do you continue to @!$%#in' do this? You @!$%#in' win!!
I can't believe I wasted 1 minute reading your @!$%#n' post, and another 30 seconds replying to your @!$%#n' post.
Its a southern way he is joking with the shrimper; the losser is now a winner ha ha he haw down south now!!
What kind of @!$%#ing morons does PMSNBC have writing captions for their photographs??
The Captain is looking for identifying marks on the prosthetic leg.
No @!$%# Ray Charles.
"He only THINKS it's from a U of K alumni/fan but refuses to jump to conclusions" would be better.
I would just like to set the record straight. Freddie is a friend of mine and he has a very good sense of humor and is very friendly and generally a happy-go-lucky guy. He was joking around!!! That is the thing about things put into print...you can't always know in what context it is taken, but take it from me...Freddie was very grateful to get his UK leg back. He used to play football for UK back in the 80's.