Reprinted with permission from Naked Prosthetics.
Growing up in a country-style home nestled within an acreage, young Kayla Toth enjoyed the vast space to play and explore with her brother. However, an unforeseen incident during one of their many adventures changed the course of her life forever. While caught up in the excitement, Kayla found herself entangled in a fence. Tragically, as the gate closed, it severed one of her tiny fingers.
Kayla was immediately rushed to the hospital where she had a successful replantation surgery which showed promising results. Regrettably, after six months of diligent bandage changes and check-ups, the reattachment procedure proved unsuccessful, and her finger went into necrosis —a term signifying the death of body tissues. Since then, Kayla has undergone numerous surgeries to shave the bone as she was still growing, fix nerve damage, and remove neuromas that kept coming back.
Periodically, new neuromas would surface at the tip of her index finger or the palm of her hand that needed to be surgically removed due to the excruciating pain she experienced each time she unconsciously bumped her fingers. Thankfully, after several surgeries and recovery periods, she hasn’t seen any recent neuroma growth on her affected digit.
“I still jumped into things head-on.”
With the support of her family, Kayla was exposed to an environment that allowed her to grow up like any kid her age and keep learning. She has always loved arts and crafts; one of the hobbies that she picked up was woodworking, a skill that her father introduced to her at a very young age. “I still jumped into things head- on, but it was definitely challenging,” Kayla says, “you would think that one finger isn’t challenging to lose, but it is. It adds up and it also weighs heavy on your other digits.” Despite the inherent challenges of woodworking, she found herself in wood shop class throughout middle school and high school.
Kayla continues to embrace life with unwavering determination, refusing to see her amputation as a setback. Her deep affection for animals led her to become a veterinary nurse, assisting in surgeries to help our furry friends get back on their feet. She shares, “I’ve been a veterinary nurse going on thirteen years now; I’ve loved animals my whole life and there’s no better feeling than saving one’s life.” Kayla didn’t stop there. Three years ago, she finally established her design and craft business, combining her love for arts and woodworking.
Discovering Naked Prosthetics
Much like the waves she creates with resin, Kayla’s feelings about her amputation fluctuate between a profound sense of gratitude for not losing more than she did and contemplation about the possibilities of having something there to aid her in her daily routines. At some point during her journey, Kayla lost hope after being told that there is no functional solution for her type of amputation. And maybe there wasn’t at that time, but it all changed when she stumbled upon one of our devices on Instagram two years ago. She was intrigued by the mechanical design and wanted to explore further, in the hopes that it could be the answer she was looking for.
After going down the rabbit hole of researching her options, Kayla scheduled an appointment with a prosthetist at Bionics O&P in California and began the process of acquiring a prosthesis. In addition to her quest for functionality, she also had concerns about the potential toll on her overall hand health resulting from years of overcompensating by relying on her intact finger to perform tasks.
Now, more than a year has passed since Kayla received her MCPDriver device, she regularly puts it to the test when she creates her beautiful wood pieces. “It makes such a big difference, especially when I am woodworking. It takes away the aches and pains I used to feel when using a sander, a saw, or a drill.”
Kayla’s journey is a testament to her unwavering determination, resilience, and the power of finding your passion and sticking to it! With the support of her family, friends, and her husband, Kayla was able to carve a path through all the hurdles that came her way and gain the motivation to pursue what truly makes her happy.
We invite you to head over to Kayla’s Instagram page (@kayla_toth_art) and website, www.kaylatothart.com, to see the beauty of her artistry.