I Can Do That!

I was born an at-the elbow amputee due to amniotic band syndrome. When I was younger, I had many prosthetics. When I was three years old, I got a myo-electric prosthetic. After much occupational therapy, I was able to wear my prosthetic all the time. One day in preschool, the battery died. I came home and was very upset. I told my mom, “I don’t need anything anymore!” And that was that. I never wore my myo-electric prosthetic for an extended amount of time after that.

 In fifth grade, I wanted to be able to play the violin with school. I got an adaptive prosthetic made, enabling me to hold the bow. Since then, I have continued to excell at the violin. I am still improving all the time and work hard.

 Prosthetics are great devices. They help perform certain tasks, such as playing the violin, and enable amputees to do activities that they might not have been able to otherwise do. Yes, prosthetics are not perfect, but depending on the person, the prosthetic may be very benificial- or not. It depends on the person. For me personally, a prosthetic was not always the best route. Different people are able to adapt differnetly. Prosthetics are very helpful, but they just aren’t the actual thing.