Now that’s a wrap – The Wrap Doctor team create a dream come true for amputee

(Atif Rashid had his dream come true thanks to the team at Stittsville’s The Wrap Doctor who customized his prosthetic leg with Atif’s favourite Marvel character’s theme in mind – Iron Man. Photos: The Wrap Doctor)

When Kyle Flavell opened his Iber Road shop early one morning recently, he didn’t expect to be changing someone’s life. Kyle’s Stittsville business, The Wrap Doctor, and three employees provide quality custom vinyl wraps for vehicles, buildings and more.

For Kyle, his day began when a customer entered the shop and to the usual ‘can I help you?’, came the response, “can I drop my leg off?”. Not a question that Kyle had heard before. It was Atif Rashid. He had lost his leg to cancer in 2015 and after this length of time had told Kyle, “it’s not my leg yet – what can you do to customize it for me and bring confidence to my life?” “I’ve went to others and each time I was told ‘no’ or ‘we can’t do that’,” Atif told Kyle.

Nothing is beyond Kyle’s desire to help others. He knew he had to make a life that had been unfortunate and turn it into fortunate – especially for Atif. He and his team got together. “They were so eager,” exclaimed Kyle. They pushed work aside and with wholehearted enthusiasm said, “this is awesome – let’s do this!”

It took about a week for designer, Jeremy, to come up with an idea and the custom design was finally arranged. From something Atif had said about Iron Man, the design was a fait accompli. It took a lot of research and development to do the project as they were dealing with an external extremity that was a challenge for the team. But nothing the team couldn’t overcome.

Then the day came when the design was completed. It was time for Atif to drop off his prosthetic for the four hours it took to wrap.

When Atif saw his new graphically designed prosthetic, “the smile on his face was ear to ear”, beamed Kyle. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He left that day with his head held high and a new confidence in his step. We all gained a new friend.

The wrap features a silver and red design made to look like interlocking metal. It certainly represents that Iron Man played a large part in this superhero’s new leg.

Kyle says of this very special project, “it was an awesome way to give back and I want to improve the lives of others. Just this small customization will make a huge difference in someone’s life“. “I am so proud of the work my team did to bring the confidence that Atif was seeking to his life!”.

But, Kyle’s kindness doesn’t end there. He wants to pass on more and each year wants to wrap prosthetics for others pro bono. He is offering to do five annually – three for children and two for adults. He has reached out to CHEO to help any of their young patients wanting this done and the adults will be from the general public. “If a little girl wants princesses, we’ll do princesses,” said Kyle. “We just want to bring smiles to their faces and make a difference in their life.”

We have heard that Kyle has always thought of others and at 15 won an award for most volunteer hours through a charitable foundation he had created.