A chance decision to join a sewing class in high school led a South Coast business owner to help change the future of people with amputations.
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Hot n Dry Drysuits owner Charlie Fitzgerald received the Innovative Small Business of the Year award at the Batemans Bay Rotary Club's Pride in Workmanship ceremony last week.
He was awarded for his innovative Medi-Dry cover which helps people who have had osseointegration surgery where a prosthesis is fused directly to the bone.
This form of surgery leaves an open wound where the metal meets the bone, and the Medi-Dry overcomes a serious problem for amputees.
It keeps the skin around the prosthesis protrusion dry and stops the risk of infection from bacteria in water.
Mr Fitzgerald and his team invented the cover four years ago when a swimmer contacted the shop and asked if they could help him get back into the pool.
"Our motto has always been there's nothing we can't do, so we got to work. It took us about three or four go's to get right," he said.
"That customer was able to get back into the pool for the first time since his amputation operation and he's been swimming with it ever since."
The Medi-Dry cover is understood to be the only product on the market which keeps the limb completely dry.
Mr Fitzgerald said each one is customized perfectly to the person who needs it.
"Every single one has to be made to measure because every leg is different and surgeons complete the operation at different places, so it's not one size fits all," he said.
The product was modelled after Mr Fitzgerald's neck seal on his own dry suit which allows him to scuba dive and stay bone dry.
Our motto has always been there's nothing we can't do.
- Charlie Fitzgerald
The biggest Medi-Dry made by the team was for an amputee who completed the Kokoda Track with a cover which protected the man's entire leg from his foot to his groin.
"That was a really special one because it meant he could reach his goal of doing the Kokoda and the Medi-Dry kept his prosthesis clean and dry the entire time."
Mr Fitzgerald has owned Hot n Dry for five years, but as a keen scuba diver he's been purchasing dry suits from the shop's previous owner for nearly three decades.
He was a metal worker for most of his life but his career change helped him rediscover skills he had learned on a whim in high school.
"Many years ago I decided to join a sewing class in school because I wanted to be in the same class as my girlfriend," he said.
"I was the only bloke in a room full of girls but it turned out I really enjoyed it and it's been great to use those skills again making suits for people."
It takes about 12 hours for the team to make one Medi-Dry cover after all the measurements have been taken.
Since the first was made four years ago, Mr Fitzgerald has been approached by people all over Australia and the world wanting their own.
One of his most memorable customers was a competition swimmer who was back in the pool just two weeks after his amputation operation thanks to Mr Fitzgerald's invention.
"We make dry suits for water skiers, scuba divers and even the Australian Antarctic Division team which is a pretty big deal," he said.
"But making the Medi-Dry covers is what gives me the most gratitude for my job, to be able to help someone out like that and get them back into doing something they love after their operation."