Thinking of others

Jordan Thomas was still in the hospital after having his lower legs amputated when he learned that many children can't afford prosthetic limbs.

He was only 15 when he lost his lower legs in a boating accident. But Jordan, now 20 and a junior at the College of Charleston, considers himself fortunate. He's been able to get the four sets of prosthetic legs he's needed over the past several years as his injured limbs grew and changed. His legs cost $24,000 a pair, which is less expensive than some because his injuries were below his knees.

Soon after his accident, Jordan learned that other children were forced to spend their lives in wheelchairs, or struggle with ill-fitting prosthetics because they couldn't afford the necessary medical devices. He said to himself, "this just isn't right," and decided, with the help of his family, to start a foundation to help pay for prosthetics for children.

Most children need new prosthetics at least every 18 months, Jordan said. But many don't get them. Insurance companies often place a lifetime cap of $5,000 on prosthetics. Others offer only $1,000 per year, he said.

Jordan set an initial goal to raise $500,000, and the foundation just reached it.

The foundation has committed to providing prosthetics to three children until they turn 18, he said. And its about to commit to a fourth child. That might not sound like a lot, he said, but the foundation makes a commitment to each child that it will stay with them until they become adults.

And the foundation's pace is accelerating, he said. For the past three years, its main event was a golf tournament and Lowcountry boil in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tenn. But lately, it's been drawing more attention.

Jordan was recently selected as one of CNN's top 10 heroes for 2009, a program that recognizes outstanding service efforts worldwide. People can vote online for the top hero. If Jordan wins, he will get $100,000 for his foundation. The winner will be announced on Thanksgiving on CNN.

Liz Thomas, Jordan's mother, said the prize money could provide a lifetime of prosthetic limbs for a child who was injured as a 2-year-old.

She also said the foundation has "helped us heal and make some sense out of something that made no sense at all."

Jordan was with his parents, who are both doctors, when he lost his lower legs on a scuba diving trip in the Florida Keys. The threesome was in a boat five miles offshore when Jordan jumped into the water. A waved pushed him into the propeller of the boat's motor, which severed his lower legs. His father jumped in and pulled him out of the water. His mother placed Jordan's legs on her shoulders to stop the flow of blood as the boat raced back to shore.

"That five or six-mile ride back was the most surreal time in my life," Jordan said. "But I knew an ultimate power was looking over me."

He attributes his desire to give to his parents, who he said always have given in a quiet way, and for the right reasons.

Liz Thomas said she's proud of her son. Parents want their children to grow up to know that "there's something bigger than them, that it's not all about me," she said. Jordan really understands that "to whom much is given, much is expected."

Jordan is now considering how the foundation might expand its work. He thinks he's going to "attack the insurance side of things." When people learn that many children can't get the prosthetics they need, they want that to change, he said. The issue isn't right-wing or left-wing, he said, it just moves people.

He hopes that the foundation raises money and awareness so well that it eventually isn't needed. That's what he would call success.

He's pleased with all the attention that his foundation is drawing, but still kind of surprised by it. "It's just me from Chattanooga, Tenn.," he said. "All I tried to do was change something that wasn't right."