'Someone gets me': Gym owner raises money for Belmar woman who needs new prosthetic leg

BELMAR - It’s a Tuesday morning at AMP’D Fitness. AmyMarie DeLuca is doing squat thrusts — 10 of them, with a 45-pound bar. The weight is beside the point for this 41-year-old Belmar resident.

She’s doing them, and maintaining her balance — not something to take for granted with a prosthetic lower left leg.

“I’ve always been too embarrassed to go to the gym, thinking everybody is looking at me,” DeLuca said. “I feel more confident now, because I know someone gets me.”

That someone is AMP’D Fitness owner Max Gomez, who also has a prosthetic leg. DeLuca started coming by six months ago.

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“At first, I couldn’t even do a lunge without holding onto a wall,” DeLuca said. “After three months, I could do a lunge. I know it sounds silly and stupid because anyone can do it, but I had to hold onto a wall.”

Gomez provided advice and support, and even covered DeLuca’s gym expenses, but one stubborn problem persisted. Her prosthesis is 10 years old — an eternity in the world of artificial limbs. They can cost $10,000. DeLuca’s health insurance carrier balked at a refitting. So she juggles two jobs as a restaurant server by day and a bartender by night at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park — jobs that keep her on her feet — in an increasing amount of discomfort.

“They (insurers) will give you one (prosthesis) and say, ‘Well, we made it, so you figure it out from here,’” Gomez said. “That’s like wearing one shirt for your whole life. And you’re like, ‘OK, my body is shaped differently now than it was five years ago.’”

At times, Gomez said, he’s gotten refitted annually. These are custom-built by experts. You can’t pick one up at Walmart or order it through Amazon.

“Any little change your body makes throws off the whole thing,” he explained. “I can’t imagine going 10 years without changing.”

So he’s helping DeLuca do something about it.

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'Everybody deserves to live normally'

DeLuca — “Luca,” as she goes by — was born without a bone in her left ankle, necessitating amputation below the knee at birth. The 29-year-old Gomez came to his prosthesis differently. At age 18, a freak accident while competing in motorcross (dirt-bike racing) shattered his right ankle so badly that gangrene developed, forcing an amputation below his right knee.

In 2021, the Belmar resident realized his dream of opening gym. DeLuca is his first amputee client.

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“If I could have a gym that was filled with amputees, that would be the coolest gym on the planet,” he said. “I try to surround myself with people who have that fight in them.”

DeLuca, who grew up in Manasquan, has it. When you live with pain, there is no choice.

“I hate saying that I can’t do something,” she said. “I hate saying, 'I’m restricted because of this.' I hate it.”

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Gomez hatched a two-pronged plan to help — a GoFundMe campaign and a benefit event at his gym April 13.

“Originally I started thinking $2,000 would be awesome,” he said of the GoFundMe. “We raised that in six hours.”

Then he moved the goal to $5,000.

“We raised that in five days,” he said.

Now it’s $10,000. That would cover the prosthesis with perhaps some extra. There are associated expenses like the liners that add a cushioning layer between the residual limb and the prosthetic socket. They can run $300 and up, and they stretch and wear out — especially for folks who are active.

“You go through them once a month,” Gomez said. “This is not the end of her situation. Everybody deserves to live normally.”

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Feeling included, at last

As helpful as the money will be for DeLuca, the moral support is just as vital.

“It’s truly a blessing,” she said. “I’ve been crying for a week because I am so grateful. Max has changed my life.”

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DeLuca is a private person, but in sharing her story, she hopes to inspire other amputees who are facing challenges — or anyone else who is navigating a hard road. There are people out there, good people, who know what you’re going through.

“This is all very overwhelming,” she said. “I feel included, you know what I mean?”

Contributions toward AmyMarie DeLuca’s new prosthetic leg can be made at www.GoFundMe.com (campaign title: ‘Let’s buy a leg’) or at the April 13 benefit event at AMP’D Fitness in Belmar. The event will run from 8 to 11 a.m. and will include vendors, T-shirts and a raffle.  

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Belmar woman needs new prosthetic leg; AMP'D owner leads the campaign