Eric

Middletown, NY

Occupation

Prior to his accident, Eric was a Correctional Officer. He is now a talented Tattoo Artist.

TechnologY

Transhumeral osseointegration externally powered prosthesis with Espire Pro elbow, Motion Control electric wrist rotator & Zeus S hand

Handspring Hero Since

2024

Success Story

Eric lost his arm above the elbow in October 2023, when he was 29 years old, from a tragic motorcycle accident. He was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center, a level 1 trauma center where he underwent emergency surgery and life saving medical treatment. Trauma was sustained to both of his lower extremities, both upper extremities as well as the spine & abdomen. Thankfully he didn't sustain a head injury. When Eric's condition stabilized, he was transferred to Helen Hayes Hospital, a national leader in physical rehabilitation where he underwent a long term stay focused on learning to walk again.

Eric met with the clinicians at Handspring in February 2024 after being referred by the rehabilitation team at Helen Hayes Hospital. Handspring immediately recognized the need for consideration of a revision surgery due to the adherent scar tissue and lack of tissue covering the bottom of his residual limb, which would make fitting a prosthetic socket very challenging. Handspring referred Eric to NYU Center for Amputation Reconstruction whom provide specialized care for individuals with upper and lower extremity limb loss and other complex traumatic injuries. Dr. Jacques Hacquebord, Dr. Omri Ayalon & Dr. Paulinder Rai in collaboration with Handspring's clinical team evaluated Eric and the team recommended targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) and Integrum osseointegration (OI) surgeries. Eric underwent these two surgeries in February and May 2025. He then spent 12 weeks attending Occupational Therapy with Kimmy Barrio, MS, OTR/L from Garnet Health Medical Center utilizing a weight trainer. The weight trainer was used to gradually add axial load weight to the osseointegrated abutment post surgery to prepare the implant to handle the weight of a prosthesis. Eric is now getting used to wearing his externally powered prosthesis and incorporating it into his daily activities.

What Stands Out

Skilled, intuitive, and creative care

"From the very beginning, working with handspring has become one of the best decisions I could have ever made to better my quality of life. Everyone is very welcoming and supportive of my journey. I haven’t felt alone in the process of getting my prosthetic beginning with clinical visits to surgeries and now alterations on my new limb."

Eric's Advice

"When you are advised to be patient and understand it’s a process, it’s to be taken literally. There will be frustration when learning how to efficiently use your prosthesis but everything takes time to learn. One tip is to remain calm and to not get too discouraged when you aren’t getting the proper feedback."