𝙲𝙾𝙻. 𝚂𝙰𝚁𝙺𝙸𝙽𝙸𝙴𝙽, 𝙿. (𝚁𝙴𝚃.) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
militaryson) wrote2025-09-24 10:16 am
militaryson) wrote2025-09-24 10:16 am
info —wip!
THE PROSTHESIS.
— Following the amputation of all of his left forearm save for about two inches of residual limb below his elbow, Peter was outfitted with a top-of-the-line myoelectric limb at Coruscant Med(?) thanks to his father’s connections within the Empire. While medical science in the Star Wars universe is quite advanced, it’s still a prosthesis as opposed to an organic limb, and this comes up in Peter’s daily life.
— Upon initial examination, his prosthesis cannot be differentiated from his organic arm. It has the same amount and pattern of arm hair, it matches his skintone at rest, and it looks like it has veins; the joining with his residual limb is seamless.
— However, the illusion falls apart in a few different ways. He can feel some things, but he doesn’t have the same level of feeling he does in his organic arm: he has full sensation in the hand, but he doesn’t feel any movement of his arm hair, and feeling in the forearm is largely limited to pressure and pain. Visually, there are a few discrepancies, mostly in that his prosthesis is not dynamic in the way that his organic arm is. The hair on the prosthesis doesn’t stand on end when he’s cold, whereas it does on the other arm; the hand doesn’t flush when it’s hot or cold because it doesn’t have blood. For the same reason, it doesn’t bleed when cut or form bruises, and the skin is tougher and harder to puncture than real human skin. The fingernails on that hand don’t grow, and then nails don’t blanch if pressure is put on them; the hair doesn’t grow back.
— Perhaps most notably, Peter uses his dominant hand more exclusively than a person more confident with a prosthesis or a person with both organic hands/arms would naturally do. He avoids using that arm and it usually hangs at his side; when he does use it, his fine motor control is slightly clumsy and doesn’t match the level seen in most people’s non-dominant hand—things like tying laces and fastening buttons are still very hard for him. He absolutely has the level of technology needed to achieve a natural level of dexterity, and he was supposed to have ongoing occupational therapy during his rehabilitation period, but once he was released from the hospital he quickly stopped attending his appointments due to depression.
— Peter also still has phantom pain. This can manifest as reliving the pain of his compound fracture, or as burning, tingling, or pins and needles. Regardless of the intensity and form of the discomfort, there’s no way to medicate it.
MEDICAL NOTES.
— Peter cannot drink, or at least isn’t supposed to, and carefully monitors his salt intake. Because of the severity of his septic shock, his kidneys came very close to completely shutting down, and he has about 30% of his original renal function left. He is currently on dialysis, with another surgery to have artificial kidneys grown with his own cells inserted in two months once his body has had enough time to recover to be able to withstand open abdominal surgery. His liver function is also impaired, though not as severely—were his kidneys not damaged, he’d be permitted to drink once or twice a week in extreme moderation.
— He's been through six weeks of inpatient physical therapy due to impairment of balance and his ability to walk in the aftermath of the septic shock. Full function was restored, but he has a degree of muscle atrophy compared to the condition he was in pre-injury.
— Following the amputation of all of his left forearm save for about two inches of residual limb below his elbow, Peter was outfitted with a top-of-the-line myoelectric limb at Coruscant Med(?) thanks to his father’s connections within the Empire. While medical science in the Star Wars universe is quite advanced, it’s still a prosthesis as opposed to an organic limb, and this comes up in Peter’s daily life.
— Upon initial examination, his prosthesis cannot be differentiated from his organic arm. It has the same amount and pattern of arm hair, it matches his skintone at rest, and it looks like it has veins; the joining with his residual limb is seamless.
— However, the illusion falls apart in a few different ways. He can feel some things, but he doesn’t have the same level of feeling he does in his organic arm: he has full sensation in the hand, but he doesn’t feel any movement of his arm hair, and feeling in the forearm is largely limited to pressure and pain. Visually, there are a few discrepancies, mostly in that his prosthesis is not dynamic in the way that his organic arm is. The hair on the prosthesis doesn’t stand on end when he’s cold, whereas it does on the other arm; the hand doesn’t flush when it’s hot or cold because it doesn’t have blood. For the same reason, it doesn’t bleed when cut or form bruises, and the skin is tougher and harder to puncture than real human skin. The fingernails on that hand don’t grow, and then nails don’t blanch if pressure is put on them; the hair doesn’t grow back.
— Perhaps most notably, Peter uses his dominant hand more exclusively than a person more confident with a prosthesis or a person with both organic hands/arms would naturally do. He avoids using that arm and it usually hangs at his side; when he does use it, his fine motor control is slightly clumsy and doesn’t match the level seen in most people’s non-dominant hand—things like tying laces and fastening buttons are still very hard for him. He absolutely has the level of technology needed to achieve a natural level of dexterity, and he was supposed to have ongoing occupational therapy during his rehabilitation period, but once he was released from the hospital he quickly stopped attending his appointments due to depression.
— Peter also still has phantom pain. This can manifest as reliving the pain of his compound fracture, or as burning, tingling, or pins and needles. Regardless of the intensity and form of the discomfort, there’s no way to medicate it.
MEDICAL NOTES.
— Peter cannot drink, or at least isn’t supposed to, and carefully monitors his salt intake. Because of the severity of his septic shock, his kidneys came very close to completely shutting down, and he has about 30% of his original renal function left. He is currently on dialysis, with another surgery to have artificial kidneys grown with his own cells inserted in two months once his body has had enough time to recover to be able to withstand open abdominal surgery. His liver function is also impaired, though not as severely—were his kidneys not damaged, he’d be permitted to drink once or twice a week in extreme moderation.
— He's been through six weeks of inpatient physical therapy due to impairment of balance and his ability to walk in the aftermath of the septic shock. Full function was restored, but he has a degree of muscle atrophy compared to the condition he was in pre-injury.