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Getting Started with Your ProsthesisHolistic Prosthetic CarePeer SupportBilateral Upper Limb Difference

Independence with an Upper Limb Difference

Amber Henson
by Amber Henson
Nov 5, 2024

I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

-Michael Jordan 

To become an independent individual with an upper limb difference, you have to be willing to fail over and over again. Children who are born with an upper limb difference learn how to adapt, either with or without a prosthesis (though we recommend with), because they are willing to fail at the task over and over again. People are taught that failure is a bad thing — it’s not an attitude that we are born with. The president of Arm Dynamics, John Miguelez, likes to share this quote: “Adversity brings character, failure brings growth.”

One of our most successful patients, in terms of how many hours a day he uses his prostheses and his proficiency with them, is Gerry, pictured below. Gerry has a bilateral amputation which happened because of an accident when he was a lineman. He is nearly nine years post-accident, so time is one factor in how he’s become so good with his devices. His prosthetist, Julian, has another explanation for his prosthetic skills: “I think that one of the reasons why Gerry is so successful is that early on, when he failed a bunch, it didn’t cause him to give up. He worked harder. He thought, ‘Well, I’m going to try again. I’m going to try a different way.’”

Gerry Kinney uses both of his prostheses to work every day

Gerry himself can’t think of his prostheses without thinking of how they help him be independent. “If you ask me what it’s like to wear my prostheses, the first word that comes to mind is independence. You know, these prostheses, they’re like an extension of myself. They’ve allowed me to do all the things that I used to do before my accident, and to travel and go wherever I want to go by myself. Some nights I don’t want to take them off, but I know I have to, just to give my residual limbs some rest. In the morning, though, as soon as I put those things on, it's like, ‘OK, here we go — I'm ready.’”

Our patient Jason also has a bilateral amputation and is also incredibly successful with his prosthetic devices. Through our peer support program and other amputee groups, Jason speaks with a lot of new amputees. He thinks of independence very highly. “I tell people all the time, when you first become an amputee, one of the first things to do is become independent. You want to be independent quickly. You want to be able to use the bathroom on your own, get dressed on your own. I tell people this because independence equals a positive mindset and that's probably one of the hardest things to have. So, learning early how to become independent, that's probably the number one thing that you want to try to figure out.”

How does someone with a recent upper limb amputation become independent besides having the right mindset? It starts with support. To get to where you want to be, you need to make sure your needs are met with the help of others. Your family, friends, medical team, prosthetic team, and peer support. Each of them will be a key component in getting you to the starting line of independence, which for many of our patients is being fit with their prosthesis or prostheses. Depending on the severity of the injury, that can take from several weeks after an amputation to several months.

Peer Support Steve and Brian with TASKA copy-1-topaz-standard v2-2x

There are also tools that are used either before being fit with a prosthesis or tools that are used in conjunction with a device. These adaptive tools can be extremely helpful while learning to live with an upper limb difference and learning to use a prosthesis. Initially, these tools can be very helpful, but as time goes on, learning how to do tasks without adaptive equipment can be beneficial. This gives you multiple ways to tackle one problem. Tools can help you on your journey to independence but be sure to practice those skills without them when possible.

Work simplification and universal design can make a big difference. While home modification may take time, resources and money, redesigning basic elements can help you become independent faster.

Eventually, you also have to be unwilling to accept help in doing your daily tasks, or Activities of Daily Living. It’s so tough because, at first, you’ll hear “You have to be willing to accept help,” then later you’ll hear “It’s time for you to learn to do this on your own.” It’s definitely some recovery whiplash! But wanting to put in the work and telling your spouse/parent/caregiver that they need to let you try it on your own — both of those are necessary, though daunting. Whoever has been helping you for these weeks or months has to start letting you fail at the most basic tasks, and that can be heartbreaking for them. But sometimes failure is the only way to succeed.

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Our Arm Dynamics team knows that independence after an upper limb amputation is possible because we have seen our patients achieve it over and over and over. Although many patients who come in for their first appointment may still be very depressed, they often leave with a renewed sense of hope because they have seen what is possible with the use of a prosthesis. So many of us take our independence for granted, and when it is taken away, it can seem like there’s no way to move forward. But with the right tools and support, and lots of grit and determination, anything is possible.

Each Arm Dynamics prosthetist is an upper limb prosthetic specialist and has years of experience helping our patients become independent through their use of comfortable, well-fitting, functional prostheses. Each Arm Dynamics occupational therapist is an upper limb specialist with years of experience teaching our patients how to use their prostheses to meet their goals. If you or someone you know would like to learn more about how we assist our patients in reacquiring their independence, please contact us. To leave a comment, please do so below.

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