Now that Turner’s had his legs for a year now, and walking is still one of his favorite activities. 

News News | Aug 4, 2023

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Last summer, Turner Fautsko made his memorable first walk across the Glenwood Springs downtown pedestrian bridge.

“The bridge was really awesome,” said Turner’s mom, Jenni Fautsko. “It was so moving. Everytime he walks, it’s momentous.”

Now that Turner has been walking for a year, it is still one of his most favorite things to do, besides hanging out with his family and drinking some ice cold root beer.

“He’s excited to go walking every time,” Jenni said.

Although walking is a favorite activity of Turner’s, he still has some barriers from him getting his walking legs on the street everyday. The weather seems to be the biggest barrier for Turner’s use of his robotic legs, which is why his family also got him a special treadmill for when he has to stay inside for the day.

They try to get him walking everyday, Jenni said.

When doing some inside walking, Jenni gets her son amped for his favorite activity and his favorite music, country singer Luke Bryan.

“He needs his walking music to go walking on the treadmill,” Jenni said.

As she straps him into his robotic legs, excitement washes over his face. He giggles loudly and smiles as big as he can.

As the legs of the machine stretch up and put him in a good walking stance, he gets a look of preparation and excitement. His upper lip stiffens and his eyes narrow with determination and then the smile moves back across his face, knowing he’s about to take a first step.

The legs help him, but he is in control of them. The lights on the side change depending on whether he’s initialing the legs with his movement, and he seems to smile more when he’s in control.

When he did his walk across the bridge last year, he only practiced a little before the big event. Jenni said her and her husband weren’t sure how long he would want to walk, but when Turner got to the end of the bridge he was ready to keep going, so his dad turned him around and had him walk back.

“He just kept truckin’,” Jenni said.

The more excited Turner gets, the more he vocalizes it, and according to Jenni he can stay excited for a long time after he’s had a lot of fun.

“Turner is very social,” Jenni said. “I would say even more social than his parents.”

She’s not kidding. Turner is constantly on the go. He recently got to perform as Ringo Star in a Beatles performance with Challenge Aspen at the Basalt Performing Arts Center at Willits, because he has perfect rhythm.

“He wants to be included,” Jenni said. “He wants to be seen and wants to be a part of everything.”

He is also quite the jokester, playing pranks like using his talking machine to tell people he was sick when he wasn’t. Jenni and his grandma Jeane said it was his little joke he was enjoying playing.

Recently he got to go see his favorite singer, Luke Bryant, perform live in concert. He was very excited at the mention of it.

Turner was diagnosed with a rare neurodegenerative disorder called KIF1A Associated Neurological Disorder (KAND), which currently has no cure, but scientists are currently working on a drug that would block the mutated gene to help with symptoms.

Jenni said Turner will be going to a rare disease conference in New York this weekend to hear about the research the scientists have been working on and see when or if there have been enough studies for Turner to safely try the drug.

In the meantime, the whole family goes out of their way to make sure he is having a fun and exciting childhood. Accessibility is the main key to getting him where he needs to go, but the equipment gets pretty expensive.

Even his grandma Jeanie makes mini quilts she sells for awareness, called “With Love For Turner,” and all of the funds go to Turner.

“I think Turner’s purpose is to bring joy to people he meets and to bring awareness,” Jenni said.

If you want to contribute or help Turner and his family, they are currently raising funds to convert a Toyota Sienna to be adaptable for Turner. They want something that will last them a long time for Turner as he grows older. Turner’s GoFundMe for his wheelchair accessible family vehicle is https://www.gofundme.com/f/turner-fautsko

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