A family beach trip in Panama City Beach turned into an unexpected ordeal for one Alabama father, after a powerful Gulf wave ripped off his prosthetic leg while he was protecting his young son in the water.
Andrew Walker was vacationing with his family near Beach Access 63 when the incident happened. He had waded out deeper than usual to help his youngest son, who was wakeboarding, after the boy struggled to stay up against the current. As Walker reached out to steady him, a strong wave knocked his son down — and in the same moment, tore Walker’s prosthetic leg and its liner clean off.
For a brief second, Walker said he actually had the leg back in his grip. But with his son going under, he made an instant decision: let go of the prosthetic and grab his child instead. The moment he released it, the current swept the leg away into the Gulf, and it hasn’t been found since…