Limb loss can bring the darkest days to the brightest individuals.

But Keith Walton, who uses a prosthetic leg, put his best foot forward to help spread a message many need to hear: If he can get through amputation, others can, too.

Before his lower limb amputation, Walton’s life consisted of ongoing corrections for his clubfoot, a birth defect where the foot is turned inward and downward. This never stopped him from following in his father’s footsteps — serving as a postal carrier — but everything changed in December 2022.

Walton suffered from an ankle effusion, which happens when fluid builds up in the ankle joint. After an operation to treat the ankle effusion, Walton thought his foot was healing. But the treatment blocked circulation, and his foot was dying.

By Dec. 15, Walton underwent amputation on his leg, just above his knee.

When Walton received his prosthetic leg on the last day of January 2023, he wanted to inspire his children by returning to his postal walking route as fast as possible. On March 4, he got past the learning curve of navigating a prosthetic piece and was back on his feet as a postal carrier in Weld County.“After my amputation, I was driven to get back to work to show my kids I could do it,” Walton said.

On paper, his job as a postal carrier was putting mail in boxes, but it meant more than that to him.

Some days as a mailman felt insignificant, but Walton realized that he may have made a difference in someone’s life through a smile or quick conversation. He formed relationships and interacted with people who sometimes felt isolated from others.

“I felt like nobody ever saw them,” he said. “I tried to see people.”

He now brings the same mentality to the people experiencing limb loss.

Walton’s firsthand experience paired with his pursuit to not let the loss of a leg get him down opened the door for a new job prospect at Hanger Clinic: Prosthetics and Orthotics in Greeley. In his new role, he uses the ups and downs of his life to extend what he always wanted to do:

“The whole point of life is to help each other,” Walton said. “That’s how I was raised. I am my father’s son. He instilled in me that ‘You are to help.’ ”

The Amputee Coalition estimates more than 5.6 million people live with limb loss or difference in the United States. About 465,000 amputations occur per year.

In limb loss cases, 57% of people had a preceding diagnosis of diabetes, 43% of people experience an infection before amputations each year and 40% of people have vascular disease each year, according to the coalition.

The coalition reported the most common emotions that limb loss patients face include depression, anxiety, grief and trauma.

The days between Walton’s amputation and getting a new leg were the darkest moments in his life. Without a support system, he said he would not be here today.

Walton’s support includes his children and wife, who helped him bounce back, especially his 12-year-old son who stepped up as his caretaker for a few weeks. His recovery team through Hanger Clinic also didn’t baby him through the experience, holding him accountable as he progressed.

“In the amputee community, we don’t always have the enablers,” Walton said. “Enablers as in, they don’t push. Sometimes we need that push because there are a lot of down days, especially when you don’t have a foot.”