Prosthetic Hand: More Amputees Proud to Wear Artificial Limbs

April 21, 2011— -- When a severe infection caused Jan Schumacher, 58, of Portland Ore., to lose her fingers, she preferred a functional prosthetic hand to a glossy silicone one that would look more natural.

"Jan came to us and told us she wanted something 'trick badass,'" said MacJulian Lang, a prosthetist and clinical director of Advanced Arm Dynamics in Portland.

Lang outfitted her with a prosthesis that looks more like a motorcycle glove than a prosthetic hand. The fingers move with a slight flex of a muscle in Schumacher's palm. Now, Schumacher is able to grab her coffee mug, lift weights, or even open a door.

And the glove-shaped prosthesis comes fully equipped with an iPod Nano – not because it serves any prosthetic purpose, but because it helps the prosthesis look "badass," said Lang.

Two million amputees currently live in the U.S., according to the nonprofit Amputee Coalition, an advocacy group. 570 people lose a limb each day.

Now, more of those patients say they couldn't care less about fitting in and hiding their amputations. Instead, many say they are embracing their circumstances and finding ways to flaunt them.

"Long gone are the days of the wooden leg," said Lang. "Much more often now people roll up their sleeves and show the prosthesis for what it is."

Before her amputation, Schumacher owned one of the largest bridal stores in Oregon. Her store, "Tres Fabu Bridal," handled nearly 1,200 weddings a year. But after her infection and subsequent amputation, Schumacher had to close her store.

"I went from owning a business, to not even being able to open a door on my own," she said. "For many of us, the experience has been so debilitating."

Schumacher considered wearing a prosthesis while undergoing rehabilitation. But she said she did not know what to expect.

"First you think of the hook, like Captain Hook. But I was shown an articulated hand, so that gave me hope," she said.