BATH TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WLIO) - Lori Griffiths, the EMIS coordinator at Bath Middle School, had her leg amputated earlier this school year. A bad fracture in 2010 led to her needing 11 total surgeries. In 2023, she went to have her ankle reconstructed and after five more surgeries it failed.
Lori was then left with the decision of continuing operations or having it amputated. Going through 22 surgeries up to this point, she decided to have it amputated.
The middle school students in the Project Lead the Way Design and Modeling Class have been working through the process of creating prostheses. Lori has used her experience as an opportunity to show the students that even though life can be tough, you can work through anything it throws at you.
The middle school students in the Project Lead the Way Design and Modeling Class have been working through the process of creating prostheses.
"I just feel so honored to be able to show the students grit," said Griffiths. "We all go through hard times, but you have a choice on how to handle it. I feel like the students, if they are ever faced with adversity, I hope that they can look back and just realize that you have two choices. You can handle it with a smile, or you can be mad at the world, and I have no choice but to handle it with a smile."
Having someone in the school that uses prosthetics also helped the teachers and students have some fun throughout the process.
"I think the most fun part was decorating," said Bentley Atchison, a sixth grade student at Bath. "Miss Sherrick called it Lori-fying it, and I think that was our favorite part of it."
"When we started this project, I kind of got my wheels spinning and we could completely modify this a little bit and make this for Miss Lori, so that's kind of what we did," said Tia Sherrick, the teacher for Project Lead the Way. "Like the kids said, we Lori-fyed it. We put some bedazzling, some glitter on there, and some some really fancy things for her. I know when a student had a toe ring, so we definitely made it for her. I think that made it a little more fun for the kids, as far as they made that little more real life connection, that real world connection. So they really enjoyed, I think, that part of it more so than anything."
To help them get a better idea of what it's like working with prosthetics and the people that need them, the middle school invited Mrs. Griffiths prosthetist Nick Mowery, and upper extremity specialist Mike Schroeder to give a presentation on how different prosthetics work and the impact they can have.
"We wanted to give a good overview of the field - it's a field that, unless you have somebody connected to you, a lot of people just don't know about prosthetics or orthotics," said Mowery, who is a prosthetist and orthotist for Perry Prosthetics. "Having the opportunity to come in here is great for the field, just to bring awareness. It's Limb Difference Awareness Month, so the timing of it was amazing. I wanted to just give them an idea of if you if you are interested, here's what schooling is going to be, but then also really just show the impact that you can make in a patient's life, because that's why we do what we do. There's nothing like getting a patient to stand and walk again for the first time. I wanted them to know that whether it is prosthetics or orthotics, like you truly can make such a significant impact in somebody's life."
Lori has been overwhelmed by the support the students have showed by creating and "Lori-fying" their designs.
"As you can see, all the support that the school has given me and these students, the Lori-fying is amazing, the toe ring, the toe polish, everything about it, I'm just I'm very honored to work with such great students and faculty here at Bath Middle School," said Griffiths.
Through creativity, compassion, and a little extra sparkle, Bath Middle School students are learning that real strength isn't just about standing tall — it's about lifting each other up.
Through creativity, compassion, and a little extra sparkle, Bath Middle School students are learning that real strength isn't just about standing tall — it's about lifting each other up. Lori Griffith's experience is proof that even when life changes your path, you can always choose to walk it with a smile.
