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In less than 18 months, Jorge Gauto went from being identified as a pilot to an amputee to a pilot who happens to be an amputee. If we lived in a comic book world he would have to don on a superhero costume because that’s pretty amazing in anyone’s book. Gauto, who is 27 years old, was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He is the youngest of three children raised by both parents: Mario, a retired military officer and Belkys, a business owner. He attended military school at age 14 and joined a military aviation school at the age of 16. As a child, Gauto was heavily involved in many forms of sports activities including: soccer, basketball, tennis, handball, and swimming. In addition, he was also on a fencing team during his military training. His military career allowed him to become a pilot for the Uruguayan Air Force.
Gauto was training others to become pilots themselves. He had a full life and loved what he did. However, on January 11, 2014, the rear wheel of Gauto’s motorcycle lost traction and hit a tree as he rounded a bend on the road. Thankfully, he never lost consciousness. Gauto feels this, “greatly lessened the impact of losing the leg’. At that moment, Gauto became a right above knee amputee. The first challenge after the accident was dealing with phantom pains. He tried many kinds of therapies including medications, mirror exercises, and meditation, but he found he couldn’t sleep for more than two hours straight. His first major accomplishment was being able to get out of the bed and go to the bathroom on his own. During a rainy day, a sad realization overtook him as it dawned on him how something minor like getting out of bed made him feel so happy. In that instant, Gauto, “refused to settle for life in a wheelchair” and “set out to achieve higher goals”.
Gauto readily admits that your life changes after an accident. However, he acknowledges, that you “must look for new ways to do the things we always did”. He’s someone who always tried to seek independence. He was not afraid to face new challenges such as showering, moving a glass of water, or using crutches. Specifically, he wanted to prove to himself, friends, and family that he could fend for himself. The strength and support of his family and friends was something he greatly appreciated. The worst part of becoming an amputee was the lack of knowledge about amputations in his country. One of the biggest obstacles he has found is to try to change the mentality of the people and make them understand that he “did not intend to stay at home collecting a disability pension”. His plan was to continue “my normal” life, says Gauto.
While Gauto didn’t really suffer from depression, he was warned that he would probably deal with moments of anger and frustration. During the 11 months he spent without a prosthesis those were the emotions he faced. Since he was properly warned about his emotional state, he surrounded himself with a measure of support from family and friends. He also researched as much information as he could to educate himself. In addition, in order to avoid falling into a depression he planned short and long term goals to achieve in his life. He finds it important to always pursue a reason to continue fighting and fills us with joy. In his case the main cause was to fly again. His short term goals were to not use crutches, get a prosthesis, and play sports again. One of his worst days was when he got his first prosthetic leg and he found it was the only time he really ‘felt handicapped’. It was a prosthesis manufactured in his home country of Uruguay of very poor quality.
In doing his research online, Gauto discovered and was inspired by the case of Lt. Col. Andrew Lourake, retired USAF pilot who also lost his leg above the knee and could fly again. He began contacting him via email and started communicating with Lourake. Upon learning of Gauto’s problems in Uruguay, Lourake immediately offered to give Gauto a gift of a prosthesis to help achieve his dream of flying and in turn provide a better quality of life. Gauto is eternally grateful to the large team of individuals who have helped him in achieving his goals including: his parents; his siblings; his fiancé, Laura; Andrew Lourake and his wife Lisa; John Alvarez, another amputee who is also a pilot; prosthetist, Dan Strzempka of Hanger Clinic in Sarasota FL; Ottobock team with whom he had the chance to practice sports activities; Prosthetic and Orthotic Associates in Orlando FL; CAE USA team in Tampa FL with whom he had the opportunity to fly in a flight simulator to test the prosthesis; , and the mother of a young veteran of the US Army who made a generous donation to Gauto. Gauto hopes to show them their efforts have not been in vain. His determined spirit has allowed him to achieve many of the goals he has set for himself and will continue.