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'Wiggle Your Toes' Brings Hope, Mobility To New Amputees

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- After the Boston Marathon Bombings, a Minnesota nonprofit was called in for a very special need.

Wiggle Your Toes helps new amputees get an idea for what their life will look like once they leave the hospital.

Aaron Holm Of Wiggle Your Toes
Aaron Holm of Wiggle Your Toes (credit: CBS)

Aaron Holm loves to wear shorts all-year round, which show off his prosthetic legs.

"There's so much curiosity that comes with it," Holm said.

He lost his legs eight years ago while helping change a coworker's tire on the side of Interstate 394.

"Instead of just picking her up we thought maybe I'd just change the tire," Holm said.

A car hit Holm at 55 mph, pinning him against another vehicle.

"I was actually conscious the whole thing," he said. "It was impactful. Was I going to be able to walk again? I had no clue."

Aaron Holm And Family
Aaron Holm and family (credit: CBS)

There were not a lot of resources available, emotionally or financially. This led Holm to create Wiggle Your Toes, after he recovered and got back to what he calls his "new normal."

"We started getting phone calls and emails from people saying, 'Hey, where'd you go? What'd you do? My brother's coming back from Afghanistan,'" Holm said. "There's a lot of people out there that need a resource."

Charlie Rutherford was one of those phone calls a few years ago. He was hit on his motorcycle in downtown Minneapolis.

"My leg was between the car and bike for that split second," Rutherford said. "My leg was so badly damaged that the best-case scenario didn't look very good."

After a visit from Wiggle Your Toes, he decided amputation was the best option.

"I had guys that were as active, or more active than I am now or was back then, who said, 'Look, I do all of these things,'" Rutherford said.

Charlie Rutherford Of Wiggle Your Toes
Charlie Rutherford (credit: CBS)

Now he is one of the volunteers who take the call and heads to the hospital after an accident.

"My goal is to give them hope for what will happen after they're out of the hospital, after they recover," Rutherford said.

It is a goal that became especially important on April 15, 2013.

"We were called out to Boston just within a day of the marathon bombings," Holm said. "Everything that goes into a successful recovery, we knew that we could help with."

Post-recovery for Rutherford looks pretty similar to before the accident. He is still golfing, skiing and mountain biking.

Charlie Rutherford Golfing
Charlie Rutherford (credit: CBS)

"I do everything I used to do," Rutherford said. "I just get a lot better parking."

One of the few things Holm cannot do is actually wiggle his toes.

"I know it's crazy," Holm said. "It's a crazy name [laughs]."

The name of the organization goes back to his time in the hospital.

"One night I was talking about how I could still feel the sensation of wiggling my toes even though they weren't there," Holm said. "People instead of saying, 'Hey, have a great day,' or 'Thinking about you,' they'd say, 'We're wiggling our toes for you.'"

Holm will be speaking at South by Southwest in Austin in March with a Boston bombing survivor. Their topic will be "Making a Difference with Prosthetic Legs."

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