“The i-Limb prosthetic hand enabled me to cut up my own food and tie my shoelaces for the first time. This first true sense of independence was liberating.”

Patrick Kane (1997) studies Biochemistry at the University of Edinburgh.

He (partially) lost his upper and one lower limb at a very young age, due to meningococcal sepsis; and now acts as an ambassador for the UK Sepsis Trust. Patrick wears a prosthetic hand, an i-Limb Quantum, and was recently fitted with a prosthetic foot, an Össur Pro-Flex XC Torsion.

 

“As someone who lost limbs to sepsis just at 9 months old, I don’t think I truly understood the impact of having both upper and lower limb prosthetics until I was much older. My relationship with prosthetics changed when I was 13, when I became the youngest person in the world to be fitted with a bionic arm. The i-Limb Pulse prosthetic hand enabled me to cut up my own food and tie my shoelaces for the first time. This first true sense of independence was liberating. My confidence grew and has led to some of my most cherished memories such as carrying the Olympic Torch through Trafalgar Square and speaking at TEDxTeen. None of these things would have happened to me without prosthetic limbs, but they do so much more than that. With my current prostheses, I find people coming up to me in the street with a fascinated look on their face, curious as to how my futuristic looking limbs work rather than simply staring with a look of pity. I am extremely excited to see where my prosthetic hand takes me next.”