Judah: Don’t Be Scared of My Hands

Judah’s hands don’t look like you’d expect. His fingers appear shorter than his peers and are sort-of knitted together. However, Judah doesn’t let his hands limit his activity and he doesn’t want them to limit the way people interact with him.

“I don't want people to be scared of my hands,” said Judah.

Judah, a 7-year-old, adapts because kids just want to have fun: he climbs on the monkey bars using his wrists and rides a bike with hand brakes.

Judah was born with amniotic band constrictions (ABC) or a kind of ‘mitten hand’. ABC is caused by damage to the amniotic sac while the baby is developing in his or her mother's uterus. That damage allows bands to enter the amniotic fluid. Sometimes, the bands wrap around parts of the baby’s body: fingers, arms, toes, etc., causing damage.

Through surgeries, treatments and occupational therapies, Judah’s longest finger became a prized possession.

“Judah is a totally rational and reasonable kid. It often happens in kids with small nubbins, they become attached to that body part. The nubbin becomes important to who the child is. Functionally, I thought it was getting in the way. Judah didn’t want to let go of that at that time,” reflected Charles Goldfarb M.D., Shriners Children’s pediatric orthopedic surgeon.

So far, Judah has undergone five surgeries with Goldfarb and the team at Shriners Children’s St. Louis. First, they relieved pressure in his right hand as it was important to his parents Judah not be pain. The other surgeries were considered “reconstruction” – helping him get the full use out of each hand. That brought attempts to lengthen his thumbs and untie his little fingers or ‘nubbins’.

One day, Judah heard a loud ‘pop’. Even as a 7-year-old, Judah’s intuition told him that sound wasn’t good. The ‘pop’ came from that longest finger, the one he’d come to love.

“Dr. Goldfarb was incredibly understanding and spoke directly to Judah, which we appreciated. He explained to Judah the pros and cons of removing the injured part of the finger and that ultimately, the decision would be in Judah's hands (pun not intended),” smiled Mary, Judah’s mother.