An influencer in China who went from an avid sportswoman to possibly the first person in China to wear a brain-controlled robot hand has inspired many with her optimism.
Jessica Du Yanjia, 36, was an expert at free-diving and skydiving, who founded her own swimsuit brand and amassed a large fan base that enjoyed the posts about her global adventures.
An accident in December last year brought an abrupt end to her sporting passions.
She had left a grill on in her home while cleaning up after a barbecue, then took a shower and passed out due to excessive carbon monoxide inhalation – with her left hand in hot charcoal.
She woke up hours later and called an ambulance that took her to hospital where a doctor told her that her hand had to be amputated.
Du said she experienced all the “despair, pain, fear, helplessness and even extreme thoughts” that a traumatised person could feel, yet it only took her a week to accept the fact that she had lost her hand forever.
“No matter how anxious or in pain I was, I could not bring it back,” Du said.
Instead, she started to focus on the solution of “how to face my future life and take care of myself”.
In May, Du was fitted with a brain-controlled robotic hand.
The device can perform a normal hand’s common gestures by sensing the movements of the two muscles at the bottom of her palm – the only uninjured part of her left hand.
She said she had been practising the movements since March, and when she tried the hand for the first time the technicians were surprised at how fast she adapted.
Du said the tragedy has helped her appreciate how important love is in her life.
Growing up with divorced parents, she used to jokingly refer to herself as an “orphan”.
As a result, she avoided intimate relationships. But the accident made her realise just how much love she got from her parents and friends.
She gradually started to return to some of her favourite sports, such as yoga and diving, from the beginner’s level.
She was enthusiastic about exploring what she could do with her new hand.
In one video Du posted on Xiaohongshu, she humorously showed what she could squeeze with the robotic fingers, which has a grip strength of 40kg. The best she could do so far was crush a blueberry.
She also gave her robot hand manicures.
After the accident, Du removed all content on her social media accounts, but later returned as “Jessica Du 2.0”.
She said she had “made a gain” from the accident by being able to “experience completely two different lives in just a few decades.”
Du’s optimistic attitude has inspired many people on social media.
“Now you have one beautiful hand and a cool hand,” one person said.
“Your left hand has turned into a wing, taking you to different places,” said another.
“Despite sounding chilled and fun, she must have gone through a lot of physical and mental pain and struggles. She is amazing,” someone else said.
