Luke and Nancy Medland have expressed their joy after a special marital version of Luke’s bionic hand has been created – complete with a replica of his original wedding ring.
Born without a left hand, Luke, 31, had used a variety of cosmetic hands with limited function for almost 20 years. Having tried and rejected numerous “functional” hands over the years, he thought this would remain the case, and continued to wear the ring Nancy placed on his conventional prosthetic hand six years ago.
However, after a period of successful trials with the bebionic3, a multi-articulating myo-electric hand, everything changed for Luke – but the wedding ring had to go.
Luke takes up the story:
“After years of frustration, I was elated to have the bebionic3 fitted. It felt amazing to be able to do so many things which are normal for most people. The fact I couldn’t wear my wedding ring was the only downside.
“We mentioned this in passing to the manufacturers and were thrilled when they said they’d try to sort something out. However, we didn’t think they’d do it so quickly.”
Luke was asked to forward lots of pictures of his original wedding ring to RSLSteeper, which makes the bebionic3. A matching band was then created and bonded onto a new bionic finger that can be easily fitted to the existing hand.
Now Luke and Nancy are preparing for their next big day with a new fitting scheduled for May 9th.
They will be joined by the man behind the new wedding ring, Bruce Rattray, Product Manager at RSLSteeper. He said:
“When Luke first trialed the hand, we encouraged him to undergo numerous tests in a variety of everyday situations. This included using it on the crowded tube during rush hour, typing on a computer, making a sandwich and using a Kindle. By and large, everything went to plan. What we hadn’t accounted for was the wedding ring!
“Of course, it was a pleasure to solve the problem. Luke has taken to his new prosthesis incredibly well, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with him over the coming years.”
The new bebionic3 hands feature naturally compliant grip patterns which can be wirelessly programmed and tailored to suit each individual user’s requirements, alongside customisable grip speed, patterns and strength. They can be covered with a realistic silicone skin that is available in 19 different skin shades or a futuristic jet black.
RSLSteeper is one of the world’s leading providers of prosthetic and orthotic clinical services and a major manufacturer of upper extremity product systems.
