Today we went to pick up Jane's very first prosthesis. We call it her "helper hand". Here's a picture of her wearing it:
Her first prosthesis is passive, which means that it is there to give her a sense of having a hand, rather than to necessarily function as a working hand. It is flexible enough that we can bend the thumb a bit to place toys into the hand, but it is rigid enough that she can put weight on it and abuse it.
We decided to start young at the suggestion of Jane's doctor who told us that if we start now, she is more likely to adopt a hand into her self image and will have a head start when she is older and ready to try the cool myoelectric hands. It will also help her to use her body in a more bilateral way. She is not a full time wearer now - our current goal is an hour and a half a day. This should give her time to get used to the arm while still giving her plenty of time to use her little arm as is.
She will use the passive hand until about 18 months. At that point she will get a mechanical hand that opens and closes and is operated by shoulder movement. Then, at some point, it will be on to the myoelectric hands.
So far, Jane seems to not hate the hand and has discovered that it is useful for bashing the sound buttons in her exersaucer.
And for those of you that are wondering about the bright colors on the arm: I am the guilty party. I wanted bright colors 1) because flesh colored plastic looks creepy on a baby and 2) because I was hoping the bright colors would catch her eye and make her want to play with it more. If you think it looks weird then, well, I'm rubber and you're glue.
So there you have it. One step down a long road that will hopefully lead to a well adjusted and happy girl. With or without a prosthesis.
4 comments:
That's the cutest little hand I've ever seen! I bet she'll love it.
Yea for Jane! I think it looks great! I'm glad Jane is adjusting to it well. At her age, anything that can be used to bang on things is a definite plus!
Wow! It looks really realistic. I didn't know it would look that real. That's great! I'm glad she's using it too. That's cool she's figured that out. By the way, I think the bright colors are wicked awesome. I'm also glad you opted for a realistic looking hand and not the actual hamburger-helper hand.
I love the Helper Hand! I think the bright color is great, and you're right about the flesh stuff. Jane is a really cute little girl and you are a wonderful mom to her. I love the Hamburger helper hand too.
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