Hola Familia and Friends,

It’s been five years since the tragic accident that changed Andres’ life. Through incredible will and hard work, Dre has persevered and is riding bikes again and improving the community in Flagstaff.

One major factor that made this possible is his Dre bionic leg. It took him almost a year and a half to tailor his original prosthetic and hone his body so that he could walk, ride his bike and even go up stairs. We are reaching out because Andres has an opportunity to make his life even more like what most of us take for granted.

We are hoping to get your help to upgrade Dre’s leg to a better model that will support his bike-riding and walking lifestyle. He is saving up to get a next-generation microprocessor knee. (Click here to see it) We are using the FreeFunder organized by Gabriel and Lianna. Contributing to FreeFunder is optional. You can also contribute directly through Bobby or Laura Adauto with cash, check, Venmo, etc, just let us know what works for you!

This improves upon his current prosthetic in several ways. First, and most importantly, it will allow him to start riding his bike seamlessly. Andres rides his bike everywhere. He doesn’t have a car so to get groceries, hang out with friends, go to work events, and go to his gym, he takes his beloved bike. Each time, he has to switch his current leg into (and out of) bike mode. The X4 upgraded leg would sense that it needs to be in bike mode and automatically switch, movement we all take for granted.

Second, the X4 is also able to sense stairs. Right now, Andres has to stiff-leg up a staircase one step at a time. This new model will help him to walk more normally, even providing a bit of thrust like a normal leg to push up the stairs.

There’s more details in the link, but the goal of this request is to gather donations from family and friends to purchase this upgraded leg with a price tag of $60,000. This amount covers not just the prosthetic itself but many months of tuning and adjustments that are required for Dre to properly fit with the new leg. For example, the last leg took 40+ versions before it was 3D printed in carbon fiber. He would wear each version (some uncomfortable) for weeks in order to provide feedback to his leg constructor.

Andres is aiming to order his new leg by the end of this year so we will wrap this effort up by December 10, 2026.

Thank you for considering any donation to improve the life of a phenomenal son/brother/cousin/friend.

The Adauto Family