Four Pigs in Blankets

Derrick Campana is an orthotist who works in Sterling, Virginia. He specializes in designing and building custom braces and prosthetic limbs for disabled animals. In addition to dogs and cats, he’s restored mobility to kangaroos, goats, camels, sheep, llamas, and deer. His most unusual patient (so far) is a bull elephant named Jabu living on an elephant sanctuary in Botswana. Jabu accidentally stepped in a hole and badly injured his leg. If an elephant can’t walk, he must be put down. So the brace Derrick made essentially saved Jabu’s life. Derrick went to school to learn human orthotics, but he was approached by a veterinarian who needed a prosthetic for a dog. Since then, he’s helped over 2,000 animals. His dream is to someday own his own plane so he can fly wherever he’s needed, improving the quality of life for animals all over the world.