'You Have To Look Forward'

Josh Holz is moving in a positive direction as the New Year begins.

"You have to look forward," he said. "There is no sense in looking backward."

These wise words from 33-year-old Josh Holz ring true as he begins 2024 using his first prosthetic hand.

Daily, ordinary things have been difficult, but with his new prosthetic, he can hold and grip things. Josh said it is "easier to hold the plate and cut my steak" and "easier to butter toast."

His first prosthetic "is a very simple one that uses a cable attached to the hook, and you open and close it by pulling forward on your opposite shoulder. It basically opens and closes, but there are things on it to help with specific tasks. There is a spot on it to carry a 5-gallon bucket, a spot to hold a nail, and it has various attachments."

Josh will use this first prosthetic as the swelling in his arm continues to subside, and then he will be fitted with a myoelectric hand. Both bones in his right arm were broken when a workplace accident severed his right hand just three months ago.

Mental and physical toughness are part of who Josh is; he played football and basketball and participated in track in high school. After graduating in 2009 from Potter-Dix High School, Josh enlisted in the Navy. Four years in the Navy equaled four deployments. Josh said that the mental aspect of the Navy was challenging. It toughened him up. But the mild-mannered young man said this: Losing his right hand has been mentally and physically challenging.

Not one to let his emotions slip, he explained how his "military buddies" came to his aid on the site of the accident and quickly applied a tourniquet. Without their quick thinking, Josh knows "things would have been much different."

Feeling like he has accepted his loss, he said he also continues to "get used to it." He still experiences phantom pain because the nerves are still growing back. Sometimes, he wakes in the middle of the night to the shock and the realization that it really happened, but he has used this period of healing to spend quality time with and enjoy his family.

On the bright side, he said, "That is something most people don't get to do."

"Church helps, and I have a good family support system," he said.

This is how Josh has gotten through the last few months.

He does occupational therapy in Cheyenne. It started as twice a week, but now he is down to just once a week because he is getting good muscle movement in the arm. The occupational therapy consists of "getting rotation" and movement in his muscles, which he will need when he is fitted for the next prosthetic, the myoelectric hand.

Josh said, "I am really looking forward to this hand."

The myoelectric hand is a mechanical hand with a battery and electrodes, comparable to the Robot's hand in a Will Smith movie. The myoelectric hand is the newest technology for prosthetic hands.