Case History

Just over two years ago, in the morning of the last day of February, Sergeant U.S. Army Juan Arredondo of the 2nd Infantry Division, 1/506th Destroyer Company was driving on patrol in Iraq with two other soldiers. A cell-phone-detonated improvised explosive device exploded through the door of the vehicle, seriously injuring all three soldiers. Among his injuries, including extensive damage to his legs, the explosion instantly severed Sgt. Arredondo’s left hand just below the elbow.

As the soldiers raced to get out of the vehicle for fear of additional explosions, Sgt. Arredondo grabbed his severed hand, which was still grasping the steering wheel, and put it in his pocket while he fought to stay conscious. The injured soldiers were evacuated and it was a long 30-minute ride back to the base, with other soldiers trying to keep him conscious and alive.

Soon after arriving at a MASH station in Ramadi, it became clear his life would be saved and his legs healed, but that his hand was too damaged to be reattached. Five hours of surgery saved Sgt. Arredondo’s life and his long recovery process began.

After a brief stop at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Sgt. Arredondo was transferred to the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio. Recovery was, at first, difficult. The loss of his hand severely affected him physically, emotionally and mentally. He was emotionally depressed and only felt comfortable at the hospital, amongst other wounded veterans.

The Wounded Warrior Project’s mission is to raise public awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women, to help severely injured service members to aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs.

Sgt. Arredondo credits the WWP with helping him to deal with the after effects of the life-threatening injuries he suffered. The WWP helped him to realize that his injury was not going to limit him. Through the program, he went white water rafting and rock climbing with Hanger patient Aron Ralston, the hiker who famously severed his own arm that had become trapped under a boulder. The camaraderie between veterans and the positive experiences offered by the WWP showed Sgt. Arredondo that his life would go on, that he could make a difference.

“Laying up in the hospital bed I really thought I wouldn’t be able to do anything, work, or even provide for my family. But I’m doing it now and it feels great.”he said

Early in his recovery at BAMC, Sgt. Arredondo began to work with Hanger and its clinicians. He has been fitted with multiple prosthetic devices, both body-powered and myoelectric. The body-powered arm, with a cable that pulls on the arm and rubber bands used for resistance, was “pretty efficient and durable” but awkward and did not move naturally. “It looks like a lobster claw, just opens and closes.”

When he first saw the i-LIMB Hand, Sgt. Arredondo was drawn to how “cool” it looked. Functionally, he sees the i-LIMB hand as bringing together the best of both his previous prostheses, body-powered and myoelectric.

“Every day that I have the hand, it surprises me,” said Sgt. Arredondo.

He has been impressed with its functionality, its natural movement and the way that it grips objects. Using the i-LIMB Hand, he can better hold rounded objects like baseballs, use the finger-point feature to type, and is more easily able to open doors on his own. Today, as a retired soldier and rifle enthusiast, it is a real benefit that he is better able to hold a rifle. At its simplest, the i-LIMB hand just behaves so much more like a regular hand than the alternatives, he said.

“I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it,” said Sgt. Arredondo. “With my other myoelectric hand, I would really have to concentrate on how much pressure I was putting on the cup. The i-LIMB hand does things naturally. I can just grab the cup like a regular person.”

The WWP had such a profound effect on Sgt. Arredondo that he now works for the organization as a benefits liaison. He knows first hand the tremendous value that this program has and that it can truly turn an injured veteran’s life around.

“The reason I’m alive is because of exciting technology and organizations like Hanger and the WWP. I’m doing a lot better, it’s a great program, an amazing hand and I’m glad I got picked to use it.”

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