On July 24, 1999, Cathy Scannapieco, then 29 years old, was involved in a motorcycle–automobile head-on collision, suffering, among other injuries, multiple breaks in her left leg. As a result of the accident, Cathy had more than 20 surgeries on her leg for repair and developed an infection that would not heal. Finally, her doctor presented her with two options: she could either try to keep the infection from spreading by living on antibiotics for the rest of her life, or she could have her leg amputated.

While amputation sounded like a better option to her because it would relieve the pain she was dealing with every day, before Cathy made her final decision she wanted to speak with a skilled prosthetist. With the extensive damage her leg had suffered, there was concern as to whether or not she would be able to wear a prosthesis after the amputation. “So, I was looking through Florida Health Care News,” she remembers, “and I read a story about Greg Kidder.” Greg fabricated a regular prosthesis for Cathy as well as a recreational prosthesis and an Elation prosthesis that enables her to wear up to two-inch high heels.