Loss of Hand Doesn't Stop Young Man From Competitive Sports, College, Career

View a more recent video of Tom, and see how he's thriving!    • Tom Seibert Patient Profile  

Tom Seibert was a senior in high school when he was seriously injured while wakeboarding with friends. Although he'd had plenty of experience, the rope got wrapped around his arm and partially severed his hand at the wrist. Attempts to surgically reattach the hand failed and Tom became an amputee. Losing a hand would be a serious setback for most people, especially body-conscious teens. But Tom just kept pushing forward. Six weeks after his amputation he was out snowboarding. That spring he was fitted with an adaptive sports prosthesis and was back playing lacrosse on his high school team. He went on to become captain of the state lacrosse team and that led to a lacrosse scholarship from the University of Utah. And then there was the rigorous weight training, bike riding, hiking, camping and fishing. Next up: skydiving, jeep off roading, and--wait for it—bobsledding. "I would definitely encourage anyone who has suffered a traumatic injury or amputation to do everything you can to just live the life you did before," says Tom. When he's not out pursuing adventure, Tom's basic prosthesis is a myoelectric hand with a cosmetic glove. The rest of the time he selects from an array of custom devices for sports and other activities. And by the way, his latest accomplishment is of a more academic nature: He just graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in exercise science. Tom has a longer term goal of going to graduate school and becoming an upper limb prosthetist so he can positively impact the lives of people who lose their arm or hand. You can find more about Tom on his profile page: https://www.armdynamics.com/success-s...