In May 2015, Sara was riding her motorcycle at night when suddenly another vehicle hit her as she approached an intersection near her home in Phoenix, Arizona. This awful accident was a hit-and-run that left Sara with 26 fractures, a shattered clavicle, and a brachial plexus injury.
After the accident, Sara spent a week in the ICU, then two weeks in observation, followed by more time in a nursing facility. Despite all of the care she received after the accident, she still could not move her arm.
At first, Sara’s physician claimed, “there is nothing modern medicine can do to fix your arm.” However, Sara knew she had to do something because hopelessness was not an option for her.
As a guitar player and a hairdresser, Sara needed to be able to move her arm. Being a guitar player and a hairdresser was a part of her identity and not being able to do those activities had a profound and negative impact on her mental health. She was not ready to give up, so she took matters into her own hands and switched doctors. She underwent nerve graft surgeries, muscle transfers and finally heard about the MyoPro powered arm brace through a friend.
She initially tried a MyoPro at Limb Lab, and her response after seeing the device work on her for the first time “you’ve got to be kidding me, I NEED this right now!”
After receiving the device, her mental health drastically improved. Sara truly believes that MyoPro is just as much of a confidence boost as it is a device to help with arm function. She loves the aesthetic of the MyoPro. “I feel cool wearing it” she said.
Sara is finding creative ways to play the guitar with her MyoPro. With some practice and some 3-D printed device attachments to hold a pick, Sara can now use her MyoPro to strum a guitar.
On top of it all, Sara has started a new hobby as a content creator on TikTok, where she posts videos of herself using her MyoPro. Her biggest goal is to share her experiences with overcoming the adversity that comes with a hit-and-run accident and a paralyzed arm. She hopes to inspire others in similar situations to continue to search for solutions. For Sara, the solution was MyoPro.