2nd annual 5K for AC Flora High student who lost leg in tubing accident

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) — An AC Flora High student got support from the community for a second straight year after losing his leg in a tubing accident.

Junior Kaden Bagley, lost his leg in a tubing accident on Lake Murray in 2021. He has since gotten a prosthetic leg in Orlando, Florida. Now, he and his family host a 5K as part of the Jordan Thomas Foundation, a foundation that helps support children who can't afford prosthetics.

“They buy legs and pay for it and provide what you need, but they also bring a community that you wouldn’t have otherwise", said Bagley.

“We buy prosthetics for kids that can’t afford them", said Liz Thomas, founder of the Jordan Thomas Foundation. "It allows kids to be kids. It allows them to climb trees again, and to run races and to swim.”

According to a 2017 report by the non-profit Access Prosthetics, there are more than two million amputees in the U.S. That number is expected to double by the year 2050.

Local experts say they’ve had no problem supplying the high demand.

“Nowadays, you see people showing off their prosthetics, and it’s really cool", said Bobby Latham, with Bulow Orthotic and Prosthetic Solutions.

“That’s the reason a lot of us get into this field, is to see that turnaround in a person.”

On average, a prosthetic can cost anywhere between $5,000-$70,000.