A Manchester Arena bombing survivor who had to have a finger amputated after it was hit by a flying steel nut from the explosion is trialling a ‘first of its kind’ prosthetic which she hopes will eventually become widely available for future amputees.
Lisa Bridgett was at the arena waiting to meet her 17-year-old daughter Ashleigh at the end of the Ariana Grande concert in 2017. She was standing just metres away when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated his device, killing 22 people and seriously injuring hundreds of others.
Ashleigh and her friend were thankfully physically unharmed as they were still inside the main auditorium at the time.
However, a steel nut from the bomb hit Lisa’s phone, which she was using at the time, damaging a finger on her left hand so badly it had to be amputated. The bolt then became embedded in her nose, leaving her with scarring and lifelong breathing difficulties.
Having initially worn a pressure garment glove for close to two years after her accident, Lisa admits to being self-conscious when it came to exposing her amputated finger in public and temporarily tried to use an NHS-issued prosthetic.
However, due to the nature of her injury, in which her finger was amputated close to the knuckle, the prosthetic proved unsuitable, as it would often fall off due to the difficulty in properly attaching it.
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Prosthetist offered free support
Lisa says she had accepted living with it as she was until she was asked by her lawyer, Kerry Gillespie, of Hudgell Solicitors, whether she’d be willing to be part of a trial, led by Prosthetist Daniel Dunn, of specialists Swift Prosthetics.
He had been looking to work with an amputee to develop a new finger prosthetic which was both realistic in appearance, and functional. Mr Dunn said:
I’d been looking to work with somebody for a while as presently there’s nothing on the market for people who lose fingers which is both aesthetical and functional, and that is what I have tried to achieve for Lisa.
What you tend to find on the market at present is either a prosthetic which offers some form of movement, but is not the best in appearance and is quite obvious, or there is an option which is very realistic, but is not functional and is just passive.
When Kerry at Hudgell Solicitors mentioned Lisa’s situation to me I wanted to help her, and it was an opportunity to try and develop something together which is new for the UK prosthetics market, and hopefully for the NHS in time.
Mr Dunn said developing an effective prosthetic for Lisa has been difficult due to her being left with a very small area of finger, close to her knuckle to attach to.
He has developed and designed a prosthetic which has a wrist strap and side attachment to her adjoining finger to bring stability and greater control, using a system of springs and a central nylon cord, which runs from the wrist strap and along the inside of the prosthetic, to bend and straighten via tension in the knuckle.
The prosthetic has a cosmetic silicone cover, which was matched to Lisa’s skin tone for a realistic appearance.
‘I wish this had been available five years ago’
Lisa, who lives near Pwllheli, Gwynedd, north-west Wales said:
I’ve been really impressed, especially at how it looks and feels compared to what I had previously, and I can also easily bend and straighten my finger now.
You do get used to having a finger missing over time, but it has always been a struggle at work when typing, and when buttoning clothes up. Despite this I think the main thing has always been how it looks having a finger missing. That was huge for me when I first removed the pressure glove after 24 months. I was very self-aware.
At the time the options available to me were just not suitable. The only option was a very obvious, metal looking prosthetic, which I’m sure many people would not want either.
When I was told about Daniel’s work and how he wanted to work with me I jumped at the chance because it was an opportunity to help develop a better option for people in the future.
I’m gradually finding it more functional as I get more used to it, but I am very happy with how it attaches and feels, as most of the time my sleeves cover the wrist strap, so it looks really natural.
If this option had been available to me five years ago, I’d have taken it straight away, and I am sure it would have taken away some of that feeling of self-consciousness around being an amputee.
People have been so impressed with it, and I am finding it more effective and useful as I become more accustomed to it.
A new option for the future
Mr Dunn will now work with Lisa to review the success of the prosthetic and make further adjustments and improvements, with the aim ultimately to bring it to a wider market. He said:
For many people who lose a finger, the main reason for having a prosthetic is appearance. When we talk we use our hands and gesture, and subconsciously many people tend to hide their hands, either behind their backs or in their pockets.
Hopefully this will help Lisa with her confidence, but also in time it should not seem strange at all to wear it, but strange to be without it.
When people go a number of years without any finger they lose strength in the tendons, and it takes time to build that up. Hopefully, we can work with Lisa to increase the functionality over time, but we’ve made a great start.
Mr Dunn has developed the new prosthetic free of charge, hoping to establish it as a product which will offer an alternative to those which currently cost in excess of £15,000. He said:
I’m a big believer that health and care should be patient centered, and the options on the market with regards prosthetic fingers don’t deliver what patients require at present. They are being forced to choose between functionality and appearance, and that isn’t good enough.
I’m looking to continue developing this with Lisa. We’ve made great progress, and she’s lovely to work with too as from the start she’s not been taking part just for herself, but also for others in the future.
Solicitors have placed focus on rehabilitation support
Hudgell Solicitors have secured an increased damages settlement for Lisa from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), a Government scheme which compensates innocent victims of violent crime.
The firm has also ensured many injured in the attack have had access to financial and rehabilitation support.
Solicitor Kerry Gillespie said:
As a firm we are committed to ensuring we act in the best interests of injured survivors, and this is not always through legal claims, but also by putting them in touch with other specialists who can offer help.
I was delighted to be able to bring Lisa and Daniel together and it has been really pleasing to see the progress made. It shouldn’t be the case that amputees have to make a choice between a functional prosthetic and one which looks realistic, so it is fantastic to see them working together to hopefully bring a new product to the market in the UK.
I know that for Lisa, that would be a really positive thing to come from the awful experience she has been through.
