After being taken by air-ambulance to hospital, Dave had emergency surgery in an attempt to save an artery in his left arm, and to treat his numerous other orthopaedic injuries, including fractured vertebrae, broken collarbone and open fractures to both his thigh and calf bones. Unfortunately, the artery could not be saved, and Dave underwent transradial (below the elbow) amputation of his arm.
Now, nearly two years on from his accident, Dave is still undergoing intense rehabilitation and recently attended a consultation and examination at Dorset Orthopaedic to use a Michelangelo hand.
The Michelangelo hand is a prosthetic hand, which features built-in technology to allow the user to move their hand in a more natural way than with regular prosthetics. The hand allows for greater control, enabling the user to grasp and hold different objects. We caught up with Dave, who sent us a photo from his trial session at Dorset Orthopaedic with the hand; he demonstrates his ability to open and close the Michelangelo hand at various different speeds, and is now currently awaiting an extended two-week trial using the hand.