Louisiana Farmer Returns to Work with a 3D Printed Prosthetic Hand After Losing His to Cancer

Louisiana farmer and construction worker Ricky pulled on his new Hero PRO for the first time, looked down at the 3D printed prosthetic hand opening and closing, and said, “I like it. It is going to take some getting used to, but it is going to be a big improvement.”

For the first time since losing his right hand to cancer earlier this year, Ricky felt the possibility of getting back to the work he loves. He has a farm with about a dozen head of cattle, which requires fixing equipment, and taking care of the land he and his wife, Sarah, call home.

Ricky’s limb loss followed nearly a decade of surgeries to treat a rare hand tumor. Amputation came in early 2025, and although the surgery went well, the physical and emotional adjustment was immediate and constant.

“It is everything you cannot do,” Sarah said. “Everyday things, you have to rethink all of it. I wash his back for him, I wash under his arm because he did not have anything there to wash with. You do not think about those things until you have to.”

They live north of Monroe, Louisiana, where they have raised cattle and sheep. The demands of the farm never stopped, and neither did the work of running their construction business. Ricky did what he could with one arm, but many tasks were slow, tiring, and sometimes unsafe.

“Weed eating was hard,” he said. “My finger was on the trigger, but my right hand was trying to do it too, even though there was no hand there. Whatever my left hand was doing, my right arm was trying to copy.”

Even simple medical advice required improvising. When a doctor recommended lace-up boots for ankle support, Sarah had to remind him that shoe tying would be difficult. “I found him some boots that zip on the side,” she said. “He could at least manage that.”

Ricky doesn’t complain. He kept busy, adapted his methods, and reminded himself of the new perspective he gained. “You do not really think about it until you do not have it,” he said. “You look around and see how fortunate you are. Some people do not have an arm or a leg or an eye.”

Ricky’s first prosthetic evaluation happened in Houston, but the device that was offered did not include multi-grip capability or the flexibility he needed for construction and farm work. Everything changed one day when his wife was scrolling a news website.

“I saw y’all’s ad come up,” she said. “I saw all the multi-grips, and the other ones did not have that. I thought we needed to research this. I am glad we did.”

Ricky also had to overcome multiple insurance denials. Sarah, who works in the insurance industry, took the lead.

“I was fighting the insurance company that I work with,” she said. When their request moved to an external review, she contacted a local legislator she knew from her professional background.

“He told me to email him everything,” she said. “He said they would get it pushed through.”

Even then, the approval came with issues. “They said they would pay for the arm but not for the sensors,” Sarah said. “I told them, you need the sensors to make the arm work. Otherwise, it is just an arm hanging there. I was educating my own insurance company.”

Within about 45 hours, the decision changed. The Hero PRO was approved. At his prosthetic hand delivery appointment in the Austin clinic, Ricky began experimenting with the arm right away. “I picked up a basket and I picked up my wife’s purse,” he said with a grin. “It weighs about twenty pounds,” he joked. “You pick that up, you can pick up anything.”

He is most excited about the modular design of the Hero Flex socket, which allows him to pop off the bionic hand and attach his Gripster Activity Attachment for heavy-duty jobs.

“From the other prosthetics we looked at, this one can pick up more weight,” he said. “I got a chainsaw, and I have trees and fence lines I need to clear. My wife can help me, but that is not something you want your wife doing.”

Sarah laughed and agreed. “He will be able to do more things again,” she said. “It will make a difference every day.”

After months of trying to manage with one arm, Ricky is ready to step back into the life he and Sarah built. “Construction and the farm, this is going to help a lot,” he said. “I had to sit back and watch Sarah do things. I am looking forward to doing them myself again.”

He is still learning the Hero PRO app and grip patterns and expects a learning curve, but he is ready for the challenge. “Anything new is frustrating at first,” he said. “Once you learn it, it is nothing. Change is for the better most of the time.”

If you are exploring advanced prosthetic options, set up a free virtual consultation with your nearest certified prosthetist to learn if a bionic arm is right for you.