Karim Haddad hates telling the story of how he horrifically injured his hand five years ago.
But not for the reason you might think.
A master bladesmith and founder of a major blacksmithing school, Mr Haddad’s injury struck in the most unlikely of places.
WARNING: This story contains images that readers may find distressing.
He tripped on the brick steps outside his home while holding multiple coffee mugs.
A shattered ceramic fragment sliced into his left hand and severed his ulnar nerve.
The irony of the injury is not lost on him.
“After 20 years of working with knives, swords, axes and machines, the coffee cup gets me on the stairs,” he says.
Loss of creativity
Mr Haddad had been teaching blacksmithing south of Canberra at the Tharwa Valley Forge since 2003.
But after years of failed rehab and multiple surgeries, Mr Haddad’s left hand was left with significant, permanent nerve damage, and the future of his career was in doubt.
“For five years, not being able to create things with my hands how I used to was devastating … and I’d resigned myself to that maybe I was never going to make again.”
But, like his injury, a groundbreaking solution came from an unlikely place.
A bionic glove, originally designed to relieve pressure on factory workers, has allowed Mr Haddad to regain lost function and return to his forge.
“It was a very emotional moment to realise that so much of my identity is wrapped up in me using my hands and to have that part of you back, you feel whole again,” he says.
Can bionic gloves be a treatment for nerve damage?
The Ironhand, made by Swedish company Bioservo, connects a glove to a battery-powered backpack with five motors that produce grip and strength for each finger.
Mr Haddad says the intensity of the grip and other settings can be adjusted for the specific user.
He says the device cost him over $20,000, including the $2,500 glove that needs to be replaced about every three months.
“When I contacted the distributor, he’d never sold one in Australia, so we got a trial one in, to have a go, and I was just blown away by what it could do.”
Professor Neil Simon is the Head of Neurology at Northern Beaches Hospital.
After viewing footage of Mr Haddad using the Ironhand in his forge, he says the device has the potential to help other people living with nerve damage.
“I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen so far, and given that this is a not uncommon scenario for me to deal with, it’s definitely something that I think is worth exploring further.”
Professor Simon says although the device was not designed specifically for people with nerve damage, it appeared to be a very effective solution.
“Because if you can come up with a solution to manage these patients, it will improve their quality of life, improve their day-to-day function,” he says.
“So I certainly see an expanding role for augmented devices like that, that enhance existing function.”
‘I’ve got those five years back’
Mr Haddad says the Ironhand isn’t a perfect solution for his nerve damage, though.
“There are simple things that are always going to be difficult, eating with a knife and fork, for instance,” he says.
“I can’t really bring my robot hand to a restaurant and scare everybody when I use it there.”
He says he also needs a few days to rest and recover after using the Ironhand for a full day.
Professor Simon says the weight of the backpack carrying the motors could also cause discomfort long-term, but would not be likely to aggravate existing nerve damage.
“It shouldn’t affect the nerve injury or nerve recovery … I would delay [using] it to allow it to attempt to heal,” he says.
But after a painful five-year hiatus, Mr Haddad is just happy to be back at his forge.
“It’s like I’ve got those five years back and for the first time in five years, I was able to teach a class without thinking about it, without dropping stuff, without not being able to hold things.”