“I am getting to use my arm again” – teen adjusts to mechanical arm

…recalls horrific 2019 smash-up

By Alva Solomon

In December 2019, young Angela Jacobs’ life took a dramatic turn when the minibus she was travelling in at Mahaicony, collided head-on with a truck. The accident, which resulted in the deaths of five persons, is still etched in Jacobs’ mind after her left arm, from the elbow down, was severed during the collision.
Today, the 17-year-old is still adjusting to life as she knew it and recently, she received a boost of confidence after receiving a new mechanical arm, which was made possible through a collaborative effort between the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre (PRRC) and a medical team from the California-based ProsthetiKa organisation. The two entities previously partnered in similar training exercises in 2018.

Jacobs, along with several other persons who are being treated by the centre, received support in the form of the new mechanical arms. “At first it was difficult, well kind of difficult to use but then I try using it daily and it is getting easier to use,” Jacobs told <<<Guyana Times>>> from her home in the remote village of Moraikobai in the Mahaicony Creek.
She said these days she does not always attach the arm but she uses it at critical times such as when she has to move around the home or in the village.

The accident
Jacobs, who spoke with the consent of her aunt, remembers the moments on December 18, 2019, when life changed for her. She said it was a day she will never forget. According to Jacobs, there were eight persons in the Route 50 minibus and at the time, she was heading to Mahaica from Mahaicony along with her father, David Jacobs. She said she lived with relatives at Mahaicony since she attended the Bygeval Secondary School and she was in Grade 10 at the time.
It was around midday and she and her father caught the bus to complete an errand at Mahaica. Jacobs said the bus was driving at a fast rate and at the time, she sat behind the conductor’s seat. She said when the bus neared the rice mill at the village of Fairfield, she heard a loud noise, which she thought sounded like a tire bursting. She said she remembered seeing the truck heading towards the bus and in that split second, the bus driver lost control of the vehicle.
“He started to panic and the truck appeared and then like we went in the other lane,” Jacobs said, noting that in those moments her life flashed before her eyes while she held on to the seat in front of her. Then, she vaguely remembered being transported in an ambulance as she slipped in and out of consciousness while she felt a searing pain in her hand. Then the atmosphere went blank. “Everything just got dark,” she said. She then recalled awaking in the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
Jacobs said she regained consciousness while in the hospital and underwent surgery. “The doctors tried reattaching the arm but it could not work,” she said. Then a decision was made to remove her elbow since that section of the limb was protruding and warranted surgery. “They decided to remove the elbow completely,” she said.
After a week in hospital, she was discharged and life as she knew it became a different experience. She said she went back to school for a week but mentally and physically, she was not able to continue. “After losing the hand I felt very discouraged because I could not do things as I used to,” she said.
She said she was directed to the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre by staff of the GPHC and she was added to a group of persons who received therapy. But she soon travelled back to her home at Moraikobai and as such she lost contact with the centre. Then the COVID-19 pandemic enveloped the country’s medical system and this further stymied any plans Jacobs had of travelling back to the city.
Jacobs, who is the youngest of eight children, said she travelled back to the coastland during the latter part of 2021 and re-established contact with the rehab centre. “They told me to go in and I was happy to see that I can get to use to arm again,” she said. Jacobs’ family was also ecstatic and according to her, even members of the community are grateful that she can use her arm once more. “They think it is okay because it is helping me,” she said.

Future plans
Although she is still mentally traumatised by the accident, the young woman noted that she is determined to continue schooling and she hopes to sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations. At the moment, an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hub is being built in Moraikobai and she plans to utilise the facility’s services so that she can continue her studies. She said that she would be appreciative if anyone is willing to donate a laptop towards her cause.
The young woman noted that she is still undergoing therapy for the hand and at various times this year she will be travelling to and from Georgetown for treatment. “I can hold items and use the arm so it is helping me,” she said. Anyone who wishes to assist Angela Jacobs can call the numbers 678-7518 or 663-9613.
Rehabilitation Officer of the PRRC, Dr Mellisa Corlette-Sengwe said the centre benefitted from training provided by ProsthetiKa under a capacity-building programme which ran from January 24-28, 2022. The 2018 and 2022 prosthetic programmes were funded by the Pan-American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO).
Dr Corlette-Sengwe said that the PRRC is now able to fabricate better prostheses for persons with upper extremity amputations, which it was previously limited in doing. She said the training has significantly enhanced the skillset of the centre’s orthotic and prosthetic staff, and enables a much-needed extension in service provision including to persons who lost their limbs following unfortunate circumstances such as accidents.
Dr Sengwe-Corlette noted that the PRRC provides the training and prostheses, including the mechanical arms, free of cost. She said once the materials are sourced from overseas, the centre undertakes its mandate to build the prosthesis. As regards recent publicity, Dr Corlette-Sengwe said its efforts have been very receptive by the public and she noted that the young and the old have received assistance from the PRRC.