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Entrepreneur living out her dream

Roberts Creek entrepreneur Sarah Doherty is seeing her dream become a reality with the launch of SideStix, a special sports crutch she created that is designed to go far.

Roberts Creek entrepreneur Sarah Doherty is seeing her dream become a reality with the launch of SideStix, a special sports crutch she created that is designed to go far.

"That tagline 'designed to go far' not only refers to the quality of the workmanship and the design, but it also describes the user," said Doherty, an occupational therapist, amputee and co-founder of SideStix. "It's about us going far not only each day, but also aging well."

A shock damper system that reflects the elasticity of tendons, ergonomic grips and an interchangeable ball and socket "foot" which rotates and articulates in all directions are what make SideStix unique. It's the first sports crutch of its kind.

Doherty created the revolutionary crutch when she recognized the need for something that would help her keep active, healthy and having fun as she aged.

Doherty lost her leg when she was 13. She was riding her bike when a drunk driver hit her, taking her right leg off at the hip. She learned to overcome obstacles, committed to staying active and even skied competitively for a time. She was in the process of creating the first version of SideStix for herself in the mid 1980s, but soon realized she needed to focus on raising her children.

"So I put it away for 18 years to be a mom. It wasn't until my marriage dissolved that I could really do something for me, so SideStix became my focus again," she said. "I was asked by a woman to do an 1,800 km trek with her, and obviously I needed a different kind of crutch, so that was the rebirth of SideStix. From there it has just gotten bigger and bigger."

Although the original prototype was for her personal use, SideStix gained a lot of interest during the trek from fellow outdoor enthusiasts and people with mobility issues wanting to access more than level pathways and paved surfaces. Popularity grew as she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with the invention.

Doherty decided to take on the task of creating a product for the public, along with her partner Kerith Perreur-Lloyd, who is a structural technologist.

Soon prototypes were out to 15 field testers of all ages and abilities from the Antarctic to Hawaii and all over North America. Doherty wanted to make sure the product was beneficial for people of different ages and abilities and suited to all kinds of different terrain.

Those testers provided valuable feedback, and the product was refined and ready for launch in March.

The first sale of the crutch was to a man in Malaysia who was about to climb the highest mountain in his country.

Since that first sale, about 50 more SideStix have been sold to people around the world. SideStix is available for use by rehabilitation patients at hospitals in Vancouver, Toronto and Chicago, while two pairs will be tested at the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. at their bio-mechanical lab. The test will measure the joint pressure reduction when using SideStix.

"We're happy to say they are going to test them, and we will be able to actually see the merits and the benefits," Doherty said.

Also this month, the Inter-national Collaboration On Repair Discoveries (ICORD) will begin testing to measure joint compression and fatigue levels for users of SideStix versus other sports crutches.

Doherty is pleased with the interest from the medical community, and as more and more people try SideStix, the popularity is steadily growing.

"I'm realizing a dream, not just for me, but also for many others. It's a dream to be active and healthy and have choices, and SideStix does all of that for me," Doherty said.