Jose wore a hook for 45 years before he tried on his Hero PRO, a bionic arm for upper-limb amputees developed from feedback from over a thousand users and built for comfort, durability, and precision tasks. What he found on his first fitting day surprised him.
Jose, 56, lost his right arm below the elbow in an electrical accident at age 11. He spent 28 years driving for a car service in New York before moving into airline operations. He now works for Delta Airlines at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, in a role that involves aircraft doors, baggage systems, and tight operational spaces where imprecise movement creates risk.
He used a hook to accomplish most of his work, but soon realized he needed a better tool for his job. “Sometimes I have to close the door of the plane,” he said. “With the hook I’m always afraid to touch it. With the arm, it’s easier just to get that push while I close the door.”
Baggage tagging presented a separate problem. When reaching to attach a tag to luggage, the movement pulled on his harness and caused the terminal device to open unexpectedly. He dropped the tag. Closing an aircraft door requires steady, distributed surface contact across a palm. A myoelectric hand with a conforming grip and adjustable wrist provided that reliably.
For most of his life, Jose assumed advanced prosthetic technology was financially out of reach. Insurance coverage for myoelectric devices is an ongoing challenge across the upper limb amputee community, and for years he had no reason to think his situation was any different.
The assumption shifted after a conversation with a regular Delta customer. “He told me to pursue it because they’re paying for this type of arm now,” Jose said. “One day I was browsing through Instagram and I saw a video of someone with a bionic arm and got interested. I’m like, let me check. Maybe I can get it.”
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“One day I was browsing through Instagram and I saw a video of someone with a bionic arm and got interested. I’m like, ‘let me check. Maybe I can get it.'”
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He looked into coverage, found it was possible, and moved forward with a consultation at the Open Bionics clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina.
A large number of experienced prosthesis users are making daily decisions based on outdated assumptions about what modern devices cost and how they are funded. Clinicians working with long-term patients have a real opportunity to correct that. The Amputee Coalition publishes funding guidance that can help patients understand their options before they rule anything out.
He looked into coverage, found it was possible, and moved forward with a consultation at the Open Bionics clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina.
A large number of experienced prosthesis users like Jorge make daily decisions based on outdated assumptions about what modern devices cost and how they are funded.
Jose came to his first fitting expecting difficulty. Transitioning from 45 years of body-powered use to myoelectric control is a genuine neurological adjustment. The muscle signals are different, the feedback loop is different, and the motor pattern has to be rebuilt.
His experience did not reflect that expectation. “It’s actually been easy,” he said. “I thought it was going to be harder, but it has been easy.”
Sensitivity and grip calibration were completed through the Sidekick app. Jose took to the wrist movement quickly, flexing and extending the hand to position it against surfaces with a level of control he had not had before.
Isabel Gonzalez, Jose’s certified prosthetist who fitted him at the Open Bionics clinic in Charlotte, said he stood out for using the full range of the device from the start. “A lot of people get their arm and put it on for the first time and they forget that the wrist moves,” she said. “They try doing everything bending their elbow, bending their shoulder. He’s getting it. He’s moving that wrist. He’s flexing and extending the hand already. He’s using it to the fullest.”
Jose chose red covers for his Hero PRO, a callback to his favorite superhero: Iron Man.
The aesthetic dimension of the Hero PRO is part of the product. The device consistently shifts the register of public interactions for users, particularly with children. Jose said he had noticed the pattern long before he had a bionic arm.
“Mostly kids,” he said. “Kids see it and they’re like, ‘That’s so cool.'”
The prosthesis becomes a conversation starter rather than an explanation. For a long-term amputee who has navigated those interactions for decades, that is a different experience.
Jose’s reasons for exploring a bionic arm for amputees extended beyond his job. He camps, hikes, cycles, and cooks regularly. A multi-grip myoelectric hand with variable wrist positioning supports all of those activities in ways a single terminal device cannot.
Cooking had been a persistent source of frustration. His terminal device did not allow him to hold a pan steady while stirring food with his other hand, and he could not stabilize vegetables while cutting them. Canoeing presented a different version of the same problem: the paddle slipped from the hook and needed constant repositioning. His new bionic hand is water resistant and can lock onto the handle of the paddle.
There is a longer-term consideration as well. Compensatory movement patterns built up over decades can cause cumulative strain to the intact side. Reducing that load in recreational and domestic contexts is a health outcome, not only a functional preference.
Isabel said the Hero PRO was the appropriate clinical solution given the specific demands Jose presented with. “Jose came to us with very specific functional demands,” she said. “He needed to close aircraft doors, operate jet bridge controls with two hands, and hold his grandchildren without worrying about the hook. The Hero PRO gave us the grip variety, wrist positioning, and control resolution to address each of those goals directly.”
Jose is not a new amputee approaching prosthetics for the first time. He is someone with 45 years of established device use, specific occupational demands, and a realistic understanding of the learning process involved. His positive first-fitting experience with the Hero PRO carries weight because of that context.
For clinicians, it is a useful reference point when working with patients who have long prosthetic histories and have not yet considered myoelectric options. For patients, it is a direct example of what transition can look like at any stage.
Advanced bionic arms for amputees were once associated almost exclusively with new amputees or paediatric users. That framing no longer reflects the technology or the people using it.
“I’m happy,” he said at the end of his delivery appointment. “I’m excited.”
If you are considering a bionic arm through Medicare, commercial insurance, or as an upgrade, talk to your prosthetist. Every situation is different. Your goals matter. Your lifestyle matters. Your long-term health matters. You do not have to guess whether you qualify. Let us review your situation and help you understand what may be possible. Book a free clinical demo today.
At Open Bionics, our clinics focus exclusively on upper limb prosthetics. We guide you through evaluation, fitting, documentation, insurance submission, and follow-up care. You can start with a video call or visit a local clinic to see and try the technology in person.
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