Somehow, and we’re really not sure how, it’s already the end of 2025. How did we get here? Wasn’t it just spring? Oh, well. We’re happy to have the opportunity to showcase some of our patients and how they were able to use their devices in functional, helpful ways that bring them joy.

Our patient, Angie, lost three fingers on her right hand in an accident in 2020. She has not slowed down – if anything, her prosthesis has made her busier since she became an ambassador for Point Design Digits, the company who makes the passive positional fingers that she now relies on. Her prosthesis brought her joy by allowing her to climb Via Ferrata in Colorado:

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While it is often the function of a prosthesis that brings people joy, how it looks can also bring smiles to people with limb differences. Our patient, Ashley, lost her left index finger in a work accident. While she does have a passive positional finger, it’s her customized hand protector where she really showed her creativity. “The skin where my finger was amputated is so sensitive. Like, I can’t brush it against anything without feeling pain. So that affected how I was using my hand whenever I wasn’t wearing the prosthesis. My prosthetic team made me a hand protector — it’s soft silicone and I love it. I’m a big flannel fan, and I love the colors pink and yellow, so they made me a pink and yellow flannel design. Brianne [the prosthetic assistant who helps create the devices at our Minneapolis center] even made me a ring to go with it.”

Ashley Passive Silicone Protector

When our patient, John, was injured while working on his farm, he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to continue being a part of the farming business he and his brother started back in 2015. John’s right arm was amputated above his elbow, and his left foot was nearly amputated. “Me and my brother both said, after my accident, ‘Let’s give it a year and see what happens.’ When I got home, I was in a wheelchair. But soon, I was out of the wheelchair and I just kind of started doing things, slowly. And the little bit that I could do just made me feel good and as time went on, things got better and better.” There were times of frustration, but “I’m glad that I did tough through the frustrating days, because to me it is worth it, hands down. My prosthesis is a huge help to me for what I do here on the farm.” You can watch John use his prosthesis in his patient profile video:

For Karen, a patient at our Kansas City center, her devices have brought her joy in two different ways. One is that they are alleviating the pain that she felt when she was not using a prosthesis. This is what Karen had to say about her i-Limb multi-articulating myoelectric hand: “Even though folding laundry with my device takes a bit longer than it does without my device, it’s worth it. When I take my time and use the device — my shoulder on my affected side won’t hurt the next day. And my wrist on my other side won’t hurt. So, it’s not about how fast can I do this task, but about how can I do this task and not hurt afterward.” In addition, Karen has several activity-specific devices, and these allow her to kayak at places like Cedar Valley Reservoir in Garnett, Kansas. “This is my favorite lake. It’s not large or glamorous, but I love it because it’s peaceful and calm.”

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When someone begins their career serving the community, what can they do if they are injured on their job and unable to return to their previous duties? That’s a question that our patients, Joe and Spencer, had to ask themselves. Both are firefighters whose hands were seriously injured while fighting house fires and who ended up up losing fingers. But the good news is that both have returned to work and are teaching new firefighters. Joe, who wears multi-articulating myoelectric i-Digits: “I work for Texas A&M, the Texas Engineering Extension Service. I'm what's called an adjunct instructor, so I travel around one of the larger regions in Texas, teaching fire-related, incident command and fire service classes. The prosthesis allows me to do what I need to do, set up my PowerPoints, use the clicker, write and take notes when I need to.” Joe also does all his own yardwork and likes to fix things around the house and outdoors himself, so he’s been fit with several different activity-specific attachments. Below, you can check out Joe practicing with an electric grinder. Joe’s prosthetist, Rob says: “His device is a custom-made carbon cuff that wraps around an electric grinder and attaches directly to a TAD Palmer N-Abler quick disconnect unit. We made this by taking an impression of the grinder and custom-making the carbon wrap. It was a fun project!”

Joe’s fellow firefighter, Spencer, works in Oregon at the Gresham Fire Training Center as an instructor. Spencer wears both body-powered and passive positional devices, which “allow me to grasp tools and axes while I teach.” Spencer now has prosthetic devices for both hands, and he’s hopeful that maybe, someday, he’ll be able to get back on the line. For now, some of his joy comes from spending time with the team at our Arm Dynamics center in Portland:

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Left to right: Jaime (clinical therapy specialist), Cullen (prosthetic technician), Spencer (patient), Mac (prosthetist).

Ali was also injured on the job and lost part of his ring finger on his right hand. Ali’s joy with his prosthesis comes through in his patient progress video (and keep in mind this was filmed before he received his custom silicone prosthesis, which he told us is his favorite – so the prosthesis in the video is his second favorite!)

Lastly, here is Courtney. You can hear the joy in his voice. “It feels like my hand,” he tells his clinical therapy specialist, referring to his prosthesis. Courtney is a barber, and our Maple Grove, MN, center was able to fit him with several devices that have allowed him to more securely hold the tools of his trade, including passive positional fingers, and a finger protector when using scissors.

Our Arm Dynamics team members feel lucky to work with a company that helps to restore hope by providing people with tools and training that bring them delight. We’re so happy to watch our patients return to work, feel confident, and participate in the hobbies they love. To us, reflecting on their success is a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season and the end of another productive year.

If you would like to learn more about our holistic prosthetic care, please contact us. If you’d like to leave a comment, please do so below. Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

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