I feel like I’ve gotten my life back with new bionic hand Mum, 32, tells of her hi-tech prosthetic after battle with deadly sepsis
Niamh Boyle, 32, said the hi-tech limb makes her feel “like I’ve gotten a piece of myself back and that is something you cannot put a price on”.
The mother of four has been trained in how to use the prosthetic which was custom-made for her after tests and moulds at a company in Galway.
She revealed: “I can’t even describe what it feels like to have the use of my left hand again.
“I’ve only had it since Tuesday and it’s already transformed my life.”
Niamh and husband Liam have four sons – Ohran, six, Rian, five, Euan, two, and eight-month-old Ardan.
The family embarked on fundraising to cover the €65,000 cost of the ilimb, which can be controlled using an app.
She said: “They are custom-made by Touch Bionics in Scotland and I visited Apos in Galway who took the mould for it and I meet with the trainers.
“It’s literally taking half the time to do tasks now.
NATURAL
“Changing bedclothes, peeling vegetables, dressing the kids, tidying up toys etc is just so much easier.
“I’m playing the guitar again. I feel like I’ve gotten a piece of myself back and that’s something you can’t put a price on.
“I’m only a couple of days into it, but it’s definitely becoming more natural. I would say in a couple of weeks I’ll be able to control it without having to consciously think about what I’m doing.
“From a physical point of view this hand will halve the time it takes me to do tasks and allow me to do twohanded things again like using a knife and fork, pushing a pram or a trolley, riding a bike and playing my guitar.”
It has also helped Niamh, from Haggardstown, Co Louth, to recover after almost dying from sepsis which she developed after her baby son was born.
She woke from a medically-induced coma to find out she had to have all the fingers on her left hand amputated plus toes on her right foot.
Niamh also wants everyone to know about the signs and symptoms of sepsis and to ask doctors to check for it.
She said: “The most common signs are shivering from a fever or cold, extreme pain or discomfort, pale or discoloured skin, sleepiness or difficult to rouse, a feeling like you might die and shortness of breath.
“If you have the symptoms and are concerned, go to a GP or A&E and say you are concerned over sepsis.”
news@irishmirror.ie Niamh fights for her life in hospital Niamh with Liam & their four boys