Marty

Middletown

Occupation

Retired

Technology

Activity-specific prosthesis and myoelectric

prosthesis with Zeus multiarticulating hand

HandSpring Hero Since

2010

Success Story

It was only a few short years ago that Marty Keegan would have done anything to try and hide that he was born without a left hand. Today, Marty is not shy about sharing his experience and the benefit he has found through the comprehensive care of the Handspring Clinical Team. Marty has a short left below elbow congenital limb absence. Marty retired after a 40 year career in the insurance business and led an active lifestyle including playing soccer in college and in an adult men’s league. He is an avid golfer and also enjoys fishing, hunting and cooking. Marty did all of this with just his right hand.

Marty wore a conventional body powered prosthesis as a child, but gave up on it when he was 5 years old. He hated how the prosthesis looked and the overall experience left him with a negative impression of prosthetics in general. Marty was able to be active and live a fulfilling life, however, he admits that he had to struggle through tasks that required two hands. As a result of having to rely almost exclusively on his right hand and arm, Marty began to show symptoms of overuse syndrome later in his life resulting in two surgeries on his right arm and shoulder. This is very common for adults with congenital limb difference who decide to not utilize a prosthesis.

What Stands Out

Marty approached Handspring regarding a prosthesis in 2010 after seeing news stories describing the new robotic hands that were just becoming available to patients at that time. At that point he was living with constant pain in his right arm and shoulder from repetitive overuse to compensate for his missing left hand. After exploring all of his prosthetic options with the Handspring Clinical Team, Marty and the clinical team decided that he would benefit most from an externally powered prosthesis as well as an activity specific prosthesis. No single prosthesis can address the multiple deficits associated with upper limb loss. The external powered prosthesis used an i-Limb multi-articulating terminal device that enabled Marty to be able to pick up a variety of objects of different shapes and sizes. The activity specific prosthesis was light weight and included multiple different attachments for specific activities, such as a golf club adapter and a fishing pole adapter.

Marty’s life has been changed through the application of appropriate prosthetic technology by the Handspring Clinical Team. In addition to receiving expert upper limb prosthetic care, Marty, like all Handspring patients received extensive occupational therapy training by Handspring’s world renowned upper limb occupational therapists. Debra "Debi" Latour, OT, PP-OTD, M.Ed., OTR/L, FAOTA who herself has a right below elbow congenital limb difference. Debi worked directly with Marty to help him be able to use the prosthetic tools that the Handspring Clinical Team provided him. “Armed” with his new prostheses and occupational therapy training, Over the years, Marty has gained functional benefit from various multi-articulating terminal devices including the i-Limb, Michelangelo, Esper and Zeus terminal device. Marty has been able to continue to do the things that he loves and has experienced a decrease in the pain in his right arm.

"Here at Handspring I feel like family. They took me under their wings many years ago and have helped me with any and all of my needs. They make you feel like you're their only patient. Their knowledge and expertise is remarkable. They leave no stone unturned from start to finish and their commitment to detail is a priority."

Sage Advice

"I would say to trust the people at Handspring. Don't give up. It does take time to adjust, but keep the positive attitude". Instead of hiding his residual limb, Marty now loves to share the things that he has learned to do with his prosthesis and has created a series of videos that he has titled “Why Didn’t I Think of That?” which are now on YouTube. You can see them above.