VIDEO: Meet Jordan's latest helper arms
Take a look at Jordan’s new arms. It’s pretty cool to check out. I shot a little bit of video with her trying things out in the appointment room on Monday:
Jordan had an amazing adventure while we built her latest arm. There’s so much to write and share and I’ll break down the building process as best I can throughout this week. This building process was long and keeping Jordan occupied was a lot of work.
That swim paddle is pretty neat! And I love the design on Jordan’s new arm.
Hello,
I am the mum of Oscar who is 4 years old and living in Sydney, Australia. Oscar has a little arm a bit shorter than Jordans. We had a prosthetic built when Oscar was two but now that he has grown out of it we were not rushing to get another built as it seemed a bit useless. Jordan looks like she uses and enjoys hers. Is the shoulder strap the only way of moving an elbow? When does she use it and what for?
How is her spine? I am concerned about curvature for Oscar and wonder if a prosthetic would help reduce this.
I also like the look of the swim paddle. Please send me the details.
Thankyou for making this lovely website.
Kind regards,
Christine Melkie.
Hi Christine!
Jordan wears her prosthetic a little bit Monday through Friday and when she needs it on the weekends. Honestly, she doesn’t need it most of the time. But what it does is offers her muscles a chance to work with “two hands” from time to time. When she was younger, she had a prosthetic built with a bendable elbow and a hook hand that uses that strap. But the elbow only bent when she manually moved it with her hand. Last year, right before she turned six, she finally got an elbow that she can bend with the shoulder strap. It took a while to build her way up to that skill. Honestly, the shorter the arm, the harder it is for prosthetics to be really helpful. But here’s what I strongly recommend, with or without a prosthetic, work with an occupational and physical therapist to help make sure Oscar’s body is strong. Jordan’s spine is doing really well because we work with the prosthetic, swim and dance. She also usually takes an equestrian therapy session once a year. I work with a prosthetist named David Rotter in Chicago: http://www.scheckandsiress.com/team_bios/david_rotter.asp
Please feel free to email me with more questions: jen [at] bornjustright.org
Hi Jen,
Thanks for your email. I will get him fitted for a new prophetic as its a good chance to see the physio and doctors aswell. oscars bone is looking quite pointy and long so will need to check that too. Has Jordon needed to have her bone shortened? Its the one thing that worries me as Oscar is very fond of his pointy arm and uses it like a finger.
kind regards,
Christine
Jordan has not experience bone spurs but we do know of other children who have needed multiple surgeries. It is something that has to be managed because the bone can eventually cause damage. Please keep in touch and let me know how I can help!
Dear Jen,
We are Michael and Deepa, from Bangalor India. We have been blessed with a baby girl around 20 days back who is having a similar left had as that of Jordan. First few weeks has been heart breaking for us seeing the child, but her smile makes all sadness vanish. We are now just getting used to raising her being a normal kid. The days and nights are filled with thoughts of how she will do stuff in her life and can cause endless worries. The basic stuff like, will the society accept her, will she be able to have normal schooling , and thousand more of other queries / worries have been affecting us.We happened to stumble upon your website and wishes to thank you for documenting Jordan’s and your Journey till date… This is giving us a lot of confidence and is making us looking forward to life.
Thank You again,
Deepa and Michael.
Michael and Deepa, congrats on your new arrival. I know it’s difficult at first. Please use me as a reference and cheerleader along the way. Your daughter might learn and do things a little differently… But that doesn’t mean she won’t grow up in a typical way. Your confidence in her will help her grow up to become a confident person. Jordan is a perfect example of that!
Enjoy the sweet newborn phase… It is so so fast! Also, please feel free to ask question any time. My email: jen@bornjustright.org