Jessica Smith: The First Steps To Getting A COVVI Hand

Earlier this year, Jessica Smith started her COVVI patient journey with a fitting session for her new rose gold hand. It’s now arrived and she’s had the chance to test out the different functions, grip patterns and what really goes into making the hand work for her.

Jessica expressed her admiration for the technology and what it’s allowed her to achieve, “the myoelectric technology is mind-blowing! You can see here that I’m opening, closing and changing the grip of the hand with a slight contraction of the muscles in my forearm.”

Jessica is a congenital amputee, where she’s never known the feeling of having a left forearm or wrist; meaning getting those muscles to work for the hand can be quite the feat. “You might think it’s easy, but my nerve endings are all twisted from birth…so telling my brain to open and close a hand that has never existed is challenging… but, this was my first ever attempt, which just goes to show how incredible the mind is and what can be achieved when our mind and technology work together!” Her aim is to practice these movements so it becomes second nature and the hand feels like her own.

Jessica had some additional casts taken during her visit, which will be used to prepare the fibreglass forearm and socket. She still has a few more steps to go in her journey, but after two more trips to the prosthesis, she should be fully fitted and ready to use her new hand.

We’re excited to see her journey continue as she learns how to fully utilise the power of her new COVVI hand.