Mental Health Key to Machinist’s Recovery

Ask almost anyone who has had a traumatic amputation to recall the date of their accident, and they’ll rattle off the day it happened without a moment’s hesitation. Jeff Soelberg, 60, a machinist at a refinery in Utah, is no exception. He lost three fingers on his right hand in a work-related accident on July 6, 2016, when the glove he was wearing was pulled into the narrow shaft of a machine, trapping his fingers, just as his shift was nearing its end. Instantly, his index, middle, and ring fingers were gone and his hand was bleeding profusely, Soelberg remembers. “It all happened in a split second,” he says. Before help could arrive, Soelberg initiated the first moments of aid by getting the bleeding under control. He remembers telling a nurse who worked on-site at the refinery to “get every bit of gauze you have because we’re going to need it for packing and wrapping.” Soelberg says the next clear thing he remembers was waking up in a hospital bed the following afternoon—wondering and worrying how the accident was going to change his life. “Here I was, the breadwinner, the father of three young adults and missing 60 percent of my hand,” he says. “I couldn’t help thinking what my life was going to be like going forward. All trauma accidents are a big struggle, and we go through phases. Initially, I was trying to figure out what I could still do.” Peer Mentor Soelberg spent the first eight months of his rehabilitation and recovery away from work. He endured nine operations, revision surgeries to amputate more of his hand and place pins, and three skin grafts. When his recovery entered its fourth week, Soelberg, who has always been into health and fitness, returned to the gym to begin working out again. When a friend he was working out with that day asked to see his hand, Soelberg says he was initially hesitant. He told her he didn’t want to gross her out. As it turned out, however, showing his injured hand to his friend that day wasn’t as bad as he thought. Soelberg used that encounter as an eventual avenue toward becoming a peer mentor, and he began helping others who had experienced traumatic amputations. Kyle Rasmussen, MSPO, CPO, initially met Soelberg when he came to a Hanger Clinic to be fitted with a partial hand prosthesis. Rasmussen specializes in upper-limb prosthetic care and manages one of the largest Hanger clinics in Utah. “He’s very involved and great to work with,” Rasmussen says of Soelberg, who not only became an advocate for the partial hand amputee community as a certified peer mentor with the Amputee Coalition but has gone to Washington DC to lobby for changes to insurance coverage. A Partial Hand Prosthesis Soelberg uses a set of heavy-duty ratcheting digits made by Point Designs and has had four versions of them. He also uses an externally powered partial hand i-Digit Quantum from Össur and has had three iterations of those. “Jeff also has some straps and gloves he has modified to assist with certain tasks or provide insulation in cold temperatures with his existing prosthesis,” Rasmussen says. Soelberg’s Point Designs digits are fitted with a 3D-printed frame, and Rasmussen says, “Jeff has raved about the quality and comfort of the newest iteration. He has needed a few socket revisions over the years and had needed adjustments to his devices at various times to improve fit or function.” It’s Just Your Fingers While Soelberg says that people with finger and partial hand amputations are often overlooked, he cites statistics that reveal the prevalence of this level of amputation. Among people with upper-limb amputations, 92 percent have finger or partial hand loss, and 8 percent have amputations distal to the hand. Despite this, he says, “Now there are 20 to 30 arm manufacturers and only six to ten finger/digit manufacturers at best.” His own experience reflects the disparity in the focus on providing solutions for partial hand amputation. It wasn’t long after his accident and fledgling recovery process that Soelberg noticed people would comment on his limb loss, viewing his finger and partial hand amputation as though the loss was just a few fingers, easy enough to overcome. Not true, Soelberg says. “Your fingers are vital for completing everyday tasks. With me and the majority of those losing limbs from traumatic accidents, there is trauma: the limb loss itself and the struggles of everyday living.” He also has extensive nerve and tendon damage to his dominant hand as a result of the accident. “What a lot of people don’t realize is your fingers are the most used limb on your body. Your thumb is your most used [digit] and 40 percent of the hand. Your fingers enable you to perform most of the activities you do every day. “Most people are thinking about size when they associate difficulty and limb loss. Society looks at fingers like a small thing and a leg a big deal, but a couple of fingers is a big deal,” he says. “With any limb loss you have to rely on other senses and sight is the biggest one. So, we are always looking at our amputation and we continue to beat ourselves up over this all day long.” Mental Health Advocate Soelberg and Rasmussen say when facing an amputation, the recovery, rehabilitation, and changes that follow, it is important for patients to take steps to care for themselves not only physically but mentally as well. “I believe most amputees and nonamputees require attention to mental health,” Rasmussen says. “Loss of limb through trauma is very taxing on one’s mental health and is a burden that should not be held on their own.” Rasmussen says seeking help from a qualified professional trauma therapist has been beneficial for Soelberg in helping him to manage fear, anger, sorrow, and self-doubt. Though a prosthetic device will never restore all functions that a sound hand performs, as the technology stands, Rasmussen says “they are huge tools” in helping patients get back to prior activities, improving symmetry and function as well as providing protection to the limb. “The new normal after an amputation is never going to be the same, and mental health therapists can help guide people through the challenges that come with a new set of circumstances that nobody wishes upon them,” he says. “Acceptance of the situation and working to find a new positive way of life are challenges therapists have helped many of my patients manage with time.” Soelberg is a strong believer in practicing good mental health and encourages others who feel they may need professional help to not delay in seeking care. “Therapy is important,” he says. It has been more than seven years since Soelberg’s accident, and he continues to see a counselor every other week. “I call them ‘brain dumps’ and we talk about whatever,” he says. “By doing so, my life goes more even keeled, with less ups and downs.” “With me and the majority [of those] who have lost limbs from traumatic accidents, there is the trauma, but also the limb loss itself, along with the struggles of everyday living. I was 53 years old when I lost my dominant hand. It’s a mental challenge every day; so I advocate constantly for trauma counseling.” Finally, Soelberg says he is like many who have experienced a traumatic amputation, who eventually come to view their lives as better than before their accident. He says he has come a long way since his three fingers disappeared inside a machine. He started his own foundation—Jeff Giving A Hand Foundation—and has appeared on podcasts, spoken at O&P conferences, and hosted several events, including a conference in Utah last summer that had booths and panel discussions centered around the needs of those with finger amputations and included hand surgeons, hand therapists, trauma counselors, pain management doctors, and manufacturers. Soelberg returned to work nine months after his accident and still works full time at the refinery. A fitness and outdoor enthusiast, he runs, cycles, skis, set a world record for indoor rowing, and has participated in several Para Spartan races. “You don’t know what you have until you lose it,” he says. “There’s been ups and downs, but every day I count my blessings. Looking back, it has been the most amazing journey.” Betta Ferrendelli can be contacted at betta@opedge.com . Photographs by Heather Swanson.

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