COVER STORY | BIONICS
LTIEFCEH-CNHOALNOGGIYNG
A new, 3D-printed
bionic hand from
a Bristol-based
company is allowing
an amputee to bond
with his young son
for the rst time.
For 21 years, Danny Florence
has lived with one hand. But
when he became a father, he
decided to apply for an Open
Bionics Hero Arm. With the help of
this state-of-the-art prosthesis he can
now build a strong bond with his son.
At the age of ve, Danny Florence
lost both legs, a hand and most of
his ngers. “I remember always
being outside on my bike or my
rollerblades and one day my ankle
started hurting. I went to bed and
during the night began to hallucinate
and my body started spasming,”
Danny had contracted meningitis.
Danny was put into an induced
coma and doesn’t remember
anything until he woke some eight
weeks later. During that time doctors
had to amputate his limbs to save
his life. He had to learn how to talk
and drink again and get used to the
pain. When he became aware he had
lost his legs his rst thought was that
he wouldn’t be able to ride his bike
again.
Danny explains, “Mum took me to
the hospital every day for two years
to have physiotherapy as part of
my rehabilitation. The doctors gave
me basic leg prosthetics after three
months and, after a while, I learnt to
walk with them. These days I use a
powered wheelchair as I can’t walk
far. I didn’t do anything about my
lack of a hand until I reached eleven
or twelve and became self-conscious
about it.”
Unfortunately, the hospital could
only offer two options; a bodypowered
prosthetic with a gripper
or a ‘mannequin-like’ hand with
no functionality. After a couple of
days wearing the heavy passive
prosthesis, Danny decided to stop
using it. “It looked worse than not
having a hand,” he said.
“I’ve always managed well with
10 WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK | MARCH 2020