Mike Abbott
“That day is etched in my mind forever. The day I was dealt a bad hand. Literally. I can’t get away from what happened, but I can move on.”
Mike Abbott, Personal Trainer from Manchester, England, lost two digits on his right hand in 2016. For four years he found ways to cope without the assistance of a prosthesis. In 2020 life changed again when he received his first Naked Prosthetics device.
Mike remembers the day clearly – 19 July 2016. At work on a building site, his hand became crushed while operating some large earth-drilling machinery. Mike knew immediately this was not going to end well.
In an unfamiliar town, Mike somehow navigated his colleague and now driver, through the streets to the nearest hospital, all while keeping his hand tightly wrapped and elevated above his head.
With only adrenaline keeping him conscious, Mike was rushed through A&E and straight into surgery, hoping for the best outcome but preparing for the worst. As it turned out, he lost the most part of his two middle fingers and his little finger became calcified and unusable.
As his rehab began, so too did the decline in his mental health.
In the aftermath of the accident, Mike was in a state of shock and needed to take time out to digest what had happened. Seemingly calm and in control immediately after the accident, as his rehab began, so too did the decline in his mental health.
In that short space of time Mike went from having a full work schedule and a busy social life to being isolated and totally reliant on his mum. When he realised he even needed help cutting up his food, that was his lowest point. This realisation quickly turned into PTSD, anxiety and depression, which subsequently stole a good two years from his life.
Mike allowed himself time to grieve for his previous life but set a goal to push himself mentally and physically and to do all the things he was told he would no longer be able to do. He got out the self-help books to build back his confidence and started to research for potential solutions. That’s when he discovered Naked Prosthetics.
““I had no idea this solution existed. A truly functional device that gave me so much hope for the future. For the first time I could see myself getting back to work.””
As soon as he received his first Naked Prosthetics device, his life went on an upward trajectory
“I had no idea this solution existed. A truly functional device that gave me so much hope for the future. For the first time I could see myself getting back to work.”
As soon as he received his first Naked Prosthetics device, his life went on an upward trajectory. From simply feeling more like his old self, to no longer suffering from phantom pains or taking a cocktail of drugs to manage the pain, to changing his career to the one he always wanted working as a personal trainer, the course of his life changed path and switched up a gear. Now he has his device, Mike takes full advantage and makes a conscious effort to say ‘Yes’ to things whenever he can.
“I always knew I wanted this device, but I didn’t know that I needed it. Nothing feels like an obstacle now, only a challenge I’m eager to take on.”
What Mike uses
Mike uses the Naked Prostheics MCP Driver® - a body-driven prosthesis designed for finger and partial-hand difference - on two fingers on his right hand.
Product Links: Naked Prosthetics