It’s been five years since Lydia Gray lost her dominant left hand in an accident.
“It was devastating, it was humiliating because at that moment I’m saying to myself, ‘How am I going to live with one hand?'” she recalled. “Every human being – men as well as women – we have our physical insecurities.”
At times, Gray continues to grapple with those insecurities. That is why she started Lydia Amputees Foundation with the motto “Reach One Help One.” She’s working on making Amputee Awareness Month that falls in April “a household name.”
On May 3, the foundation will hold its annual Friendly 5K Walk for Amputees at Alvin P. Williams Memorial Park in Sewaren starting at 10 a.m.
The walk, which began in 2022, aims to become “a community celebration of Amputees Awareness Month, healthy living, and supporting a worthy cause.”
“Our mission is supporting amputees, who are struggling with life’s challenges,” Gray shared. “Raise funds for amputees’ research, support local amputees in need, [and] promote healthy lifestyles.”
All proceeds from the event will directly benefit amputees and other related disabilities including research programs, amputation services and community outreach.
The year 2020 began on a high note for Gray. She had just rented a prep kitchen space in Old Bridge to mass produce her small snack company making Chin-Chin, a fried bite-sized pastry (like donut) snack, made from wheat flour from her native West Africa.
“I started it because of the reviews I got [on the snack],” Gray said from friends continuously requesting the snack to toddlers throwing tantrums when the snack ran out.
She was on her way to achieving that dream of bringing her product to grocery stores and local market shelves. However, on March 5, 2020, Gray said her life changed forever.
She was preparing for the upcoming food exhibitions at the Jacob Javits Exposition Center in New York City. She was at her prep kitchen with her daughter and nephew.
“I had researched this event and with encouragement from advisors, I hoped that this would provide an avenue to get my product’s name in mainstream markets with broader distribution,” Gray said.
As they were preparing, a piece of machinery malfunctioned.
“I attempted to troubleshoot the problem and a roll of packaging bags fell on me,” Gray describes in her story on her foundation website. “This caused the machine’s motor to turn at a fast speed, and my left (dominant) hand was pulled down, and became stuck on the end where the bags are cut off. My hand was severely damaged.”
Gray was rushed to the emergency room at Jersey Shore University Medical Center where a hand surgery specialist was contacted. Dr. Ajul Shah of The Center for Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery at The Institute for Advanced Reconstruction made all attempts to reconstruct Gray’s hand, but due to the amount of damage that was present, an amputation was determined to be necessary.
“I blamed myself for my injury, my accident,” Gray said. “I felt embarrassed. … All I wanted to become was a strong Black women in life, now I have caused my left hand to be amputated. It was really, really a devastating moment for me.”
Shah performed a procedure called Targeted Muscle Reinnervation that involves the transfer of nerves that once controlled the amputated limb to reinnervate function to remaining muscles.
“My prosthetic team at Prosthetic Innovations was instrumental in mapping and creating a prosthetic for me that met my functional goals and provided comfort for everyday use,” Gray explained. “I also was most fortunate to meet with Alta Fried, a certified hand therapist who works closely with Dr. Shah. I began working with Dr. Fried following surgery and therapy has been helping me tremendously to learn how to utilize my prosthetic hand.
“TMR surgery has enabled me to use a fully functional myoelectric prosthesis which I can open and close naturally using my own muscles.”
As Gray was adapting to a fully functional prosthetic hand, payment for her “new normal” was another battle.
Even through insurance, “I was asked to pay 75% of $125,000,” Gray said. “That’s when I just broke down.”
Gray’s mindset went back to her tough childhood in Sierra Leone. Her parents died by the time she was 11 years old. She was an orphan passing from home to home. She came to the United States on Dec. 26, 1988 with a broken and torn up suitcase and not a single penny in her pocket.
“My childhood was very, very hard and just as I thought I was getting my life together, I went to school, I have a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree … I was on top of my game, I left my childhood behind … and I lost my hand,” she said.
But through the strength of her family and the support of people around her, Gray was able to come through.
“With good therapy and mental health therapy, I was able to start getting myself together,” she said. “During the accident, my daughter was only 17 and she was graduating high school that year. I’m saying to myself at that moment, ‘If I let myself go, what am I going to do to her? Because as a mother, if my mind is not correct then I’m not helping my family, I’m keeping them also down.'”
Not everyone has the support of their family and friends. That’s why Gray said she continues to do what she set out to do after her accident.
“The statistics show the average lifetime of an amputee is five years after amputation due to mental health illness,” Gray said. “Many still are suffering in a dark place with amputation or other disabilities.”
For more information about the foundation and the annual walk visit www.lydiaamputee.org. The walk will include entertainment, games and food.
