“I absolutely loved being at Hobbs Rehabilitation and am so happy with the support that everyone gave me.”
Prior to her accident, Lucy worked as a long-distance lorry driver, travelling up and down, all across the UK. Having owned three lorries, she classed herself as a certified ‘lorry connoisseur’ and absolutely loved driving them around, seeing different places and meeting new people along the way. She transformed her lorry cabs into vibrant dens, decorating them with all her favourite things. Each cab became a cosy and special home on wheels during the week, before she returned to her real home on weekends.
Unexpectedly however, on the 28th of October, 2023, Lucy suffered a serious road traffic accident (RTA) on one of her journeys. This caused a major brain injury, along with a lot of broken bones. An ambulance was called immediately, which transported her to the nearest hospital where she was placed into a coma for six weeks. The surgical team worked tirelessly to improve Lucy’s injuries while she was in a coma, but unfortunately had to amputate her right arm after three days at the hospital because the injuries were so severe.
After her period at hospital, Lucy returned back home, facing a profoundly changed life. Despite putting on a strong front, there were plenty of emotional and physical challenges that were thrown her way. As a result of the brain injury, she experienced daily migraines, altering how she perceived colours, and leaving her in a state of constant fatigue, both in the mind and body. Lucy also developed aphasia, specifically accompanied with memory loss, which was not only physically debilitating, but also induced immense stress, emotional drain, and confusion.
Lucy was left with the life-changing challenge of adapting to life with only one arm. The idea of retraining herself to complete everyday tasks with one arm was one of the most overwhelming consequences she faced following her RTA. Activities that once seemed like second nature, such as hanging out the washing, or driving, became huge obstacles. Lucy was also unable to return to work, which caused her mood to deteriorate as this was what she looked forward to every day prior.
Before coming to Hobbs Rehabilitation in Bristol, Lucy first started her post-hospital rehabilitation journey at Proactive Prosthetic and Orthotic Care Bristol clinic in June of 2024. Following a dedicated treatment programme there, she started intensive rehabilitation with our Amputee and Trauma service at our Intensive Neurotherapy Centre at Bristol, January 2025. Our Specialist Amputee and Neurological Physiotherapists, Mark McIntosh and Caroline Hardman, were the key treating therapist for Lucy. They built her a bespoke treatment plan for her first round of intensive rehabilitation, as well as her second round in April 2025, after the delivery of her new prosthetic arm.
Lucy’s main priorities at Hobbs Rehabilitation Bristol were to target limb mastery, including learning how to use the muscles in her amputated arm and how to operate the prosthetic.
These goals were vital to prepare Lucy to return to work and encourage her confidence when completing household tasks.
Mark and Caroline not only approached Lucy’s rehabilitation focused solely on building her strength and confidence using her new arm; they also explored her gait analysis, as this had been significantly affected by the RTA too.
With a bespoke treatment plan created with these priorities in mind, Mark and Caroline used their expertise in neurotechnology, with his experience in hands-on amputee physiotherapy, to make impressive improvements to Lucy’s recovery. Her true determination to achieve the goals she had set, and her consistent hard-work meant that Lucy was, over the course of the two rounds of intensive treatment, able to learn how to use her new prosthetic arm more effectively and comfortably. She persevered through her treatment and carried this over after her time at Hobbs Rehabilitation. Committed to her recovery, she now trains diligently every day, pushing herself to make the most of every step forward.
“I absolutely loved being at Hobbs Rehabilitation and am so happy with the support that everyone gave me.” – Lucy
Since leaving, Lucy has progressed even further with a new prosthetic, her first myoelectric hand. This prosthetic uses electrical signals detected from the muscles within the body, combined with a motor in the actual device, to move. This has contributed to further improvements in Lucy’s independence with everyday tasks, as it makes using her right arm much easier.
“Lucy has just finished her second block of rehab with us at Bristol and has recently been introduced to her first myoelectric hand. As you can see from the video she sent us, Lucy is getting on great with it. This is the first time since she had her injury 2 years ago that she has been able to tolerate wearing a prosthesis and as you can see, she is starting to use it in function. So chuffed for her!” – Mark McIntosh, Specialist Amputee and Neurological Physiotherapist
Lucy will be coming back to Hobbs Rehabilitation to see Mark and Caroline at the Intensive Neurotherapy Centre soon and is looking forward to finding more opportunities to get back to doing the every-day things we all take for granted – onwards!.