Chinese Farmer Builds His Own Prosthetic Hands

Sun Jifa, a Chinese farmer who lives in Guanmashan, Jilin province, lost both of his hands when a homemade bomb suddenly exploded. Since his hands were connected directly to his livelihood, getting prosthetic replacements were essential to his survival. However, Jifa couldn’t afford the hospital’s prices, leaving him with quite a dilemma. Instead of going without hands, the farmer decided to make his own.

According to The Daily Mail, Sun quickly set to work developing his own prosthetic limbs, a project that would require eight long years to complete. The makeshift hands are so advanced that he is able to grip and pick up things with relative ease.

“I control them with movements from my elbows and I can work, love normally and feed myself just like anyone else,” he explained. “The only drawback is that steel is quite heavy so they’re tiring to wear and get hot or cold in the extremes of summer and winter.”

What’s particularly amazing about Sun Jifa’s prosthetic hands is that he made the pair with scrap metal for next to nothing. Even more incredible is that he fashioned the devices without any hands. That in itself is beyond impressive.

Although life has surely changed for the Chinese farmer, it would seem that he’s still able to enjoy the things that make him happy. In addition to feeding himself and brushing his teeth, Jifa can be found playing his harmonica and riding his motorcycle. It may have taken him eight years to get there, but he did so on his own terms.

Understanding that there are other people who are presently unable to afford professionally-crafted prosthetic limbs, Sun Jifa hopes to make prosthetic for those unfortunate individuals who are in his shoes.

“I made this from scrap metal for virtually nothing. There is no need to pay hospitals a fortune,” he explained.

To see the Chinese farmer’s prosthetic hands in action, pay a visit to Kotaku or have a look at the videos embedded below.