By Sheldon Scruggs
Times Herald-Record
Posted: January 13, 2010 - 2:00 AM
People tend to take a lot of things for granted.

For instance, take our hands. Every day, without thinking about it, we use them to grasp all kinds of objects. But suppose you didn't have an opposable thumb or were missing one or more fingers? Suppose you had no hand at all?

Accidents and diseases such as meningitis and diabetes result in 50,000 new amputations every year in the U.S., according to the National Center for Health Statistics. It's estimated that 41,000 people in the U.S. are missing a whole hand or arm. In fact, the most common upper-body amputations are partial-hand, where one or more fingers are missing..........

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