Combining therapeutic movement and gaming for more effective, fun, and an engaging work experience, the Music Glove works in conjunction with a tablet. Similar to a video game, the user taps and touches the tablet in specified patterns and at specified speeds, ideally for 20- to 30-minute sessions.

Getting a Grip on Stroke Recovery

Johnny Huggins Uses Adaptive Glove to Return to Drumming

By Christina Eichelkraut

Johnny Huggins is an award-winning drummer who said he has “played everything from the church to heavy metal.” And though he may have driven a truck to pay the bills and support his family, for Huggins, drumming isn’t a side hustle or hobby. It is very much a core part of who he is.

Which made the stroke he experienced in 2020 that much more devastating. The stroke paralyzed and numbed Huggins on his right side…which meant he couldn’t hold a drumstick in that hand anymore. Or drive a truck, or do much of anything he used to do.

“The whole right side of the body shut down,” Huggins said. “It was torture. Because I’m used to always doing something. If I’m not driving a truck or playing music, doing that, I’m trying to raise my kids and paying bills, just all of it.”

Over the next several years, Huggins regained some mobility after undergoing physical therapy, though he did have a bit of delay in receiving treatment. He’s even managed to begin partly drumming again with his left hand.

But Huggins still can’t drum like he used to, and he misses it.

So, in August of 2024 he reached out to the Brain Injury Association of Arizona.

Janice Podzimek, brain health services navigator for BIAAZ, took his initial call.

“And then it came up that he’s a musician, he’s a drummer,” Podzimek said. “He was looking for any kind of help that would help him strengthen the grip in his right hand so that he could grip the drumstick.”

Johnny’s quest to get back to being a drummer resonated with Podzimek, a fellow musician. She spent nearly a decade as the lead singer of Port Authority, a popular Midwestern rock and R&B band she joined in the early nineties.

Podzimek knew Huggins would require some type of intensive therapy or assistive device to help him get back to drumming on stage again. She connected Huggins to a number of other resources for stroke survivors and made a mental note to keep an eye out for any adaptive technology that could help him strengthen his right hand.

As it turned out, Podzimek didn’t have to look too hard. Unexpectedly, the answer came to her, a tailor-made solution dropped right into her inbox.

It’s true that, due to her job, Podzimek regularly receives a constant stream of emails from various clinics and vendors announcing different products and services for people with disabilities. But this particular email stood out from the usual deluge.

The message was from Flint Rehab, a company that specializes in adaptive and therapeutic devices and was touting the benefits of its Music Glove, an FDA-approved device specifically designed to help stroke survivors regain mobility in their hands. Flint Rehab said clinical tests showed users had significantly improved hand function improvement within two weeks or six total hours of use.

Podzimek couldn’t believe the fortuitous timing. She’d never received any correspondence from Flint Rehab before and this exact product was aimed for Huggins’ specific situation.

“It’s really interesting that they just sent me information out of the blue,” Podzimek said. “I didn’t know anything about them.”

Still, the adaptive device wasn’t a guarantee. For the glove’s program to work, the stroke survivor must be able to move their fingers to the degree they can touch their thumb to their fingers. And of course, it depended on the patient, their diligence with the program, and their personal impairments.

But the ultimate results the Music Glove touted – improved finger mobility and dexterity – were “all the things my client is hoping to do,” Podzimek said.

Thanks to BIAAZ’s donor-funded Client Assistance Fund, Janice was able to get the Music Glove for Johnny. And, when Janice found out Johnny didn’t have a computer, she went above and beyond to find a tablet Johnny could use with the glove and personally delivered both to his house. She also makes it a point to check in with him on a regular basis to monitor his progress and get feedback from him about the device.

Johnny was thrilled and eager to get to work. He said at that point he was willing to look at “every angle, I’ll try everything.”

Though the Music Glove sounded like an effective therapy, Podzimek was careful not to make any promises. After all, every stroke survivor, no matter how common the impacts they experience are, ultimately has a unique recovery journey.

“I didn’t want to give him any guarantees,” Podzimek said. “I didn’t want to build it to, ‘Oh yes, you’re going to be 100 percent back to where you were.'”

Podzimek made it clear that the Music Glove might at least increase his hand strength from where it was, but that didn’t necessarily mean he’d be back to slapping the rims with both hands. But they both believed it was at least worth a shot, and the worst outcome was likely to be at least some improvement.

The Hard Work of Therapy

The Music Glove works in conjunction with a tablet. Similar to a video game, the user taps and touches the tablet in specified patterns and at specified speeds, ideally for 20- to 30-minute sessions.

“It combines therapeutic movement and gaming for more effective, fun, engaging rehab experience,” Podzimek said.

Huggins found the experience physically and mentally challenging, which as every survivor knows, all therapy is, whether physical or mental.

“It’s kind of exhausting, too,” Huggins said. “When you try to play the game, and you go through the fingers, it takes a lot out of your brain.”

But ultimately it was worth it.

When Huggins first started, his right arm was completely numb from the elbow down.

“But after a couple of sessions, I started getting the hankering to touch my fingers together,” Huggins said.

All the same, it became clear pretty quickly Huggins would have to build up to the full recommended 20-minute sessions. Initially when he tried that, his hand would swell and he said he could feel his brain shutting down.

“So, then I would have to stop and then regroup for the next session, which is every two days,” Huggins said.

Huggins remains patient and pragmatic about his progress, acknowledging that any change is still an improvement.

“Keep in mind for three and a half of those years I was locked up like an old Ford, and just recently am trying to do this right here,” Huggins said. “But I’m feeling a whole lot more, and it’s coming back.”

It’s touch and go – some days are good, and he feels like he’s at 100 percent. But other days are harder.

Recently, Huggins said he’d completed an entire session for the first time and felt great. He decided to keep going, but after a short bit realized he wasn’t quite there yet and had to quit for the day.

Though Huggins wants to be able to get back to drumming, his immediate goal is “just to be functional.”

And he said he has the same advice for other survivors as he has for himself: “Don’t give up.”

Watch Johnny Try His New Glove

Johnny was only able to get this adaptive device because of donations to BIAAZ. Our Client Assistance Fund closes many vital care gaps that insurance doesn’t cover or economic realities don’t allow for. This includes everything from paying for internet service so clients can attend necessary Telehealth appointments to purchasing work appropriate clothing or certification classes so survivors can pursue a new, accessible, and accommodating career. If you would like to directly support the lives of survivors of brain injury, please consider contributing to our Client Emergency Assistance Fund.

ABOUT BRAIN INJURY ASSOCIATION OF ARIZONA

The Brain Injury Association of Arizona (BIAAZ) is the only statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of adults and children with all types of brain injuries through prevention, advocacy, awareness and education. BIAAZ also houses the Arizona Brain Health Resource Center, a collection of educational information and neuro-specific resources for brain injury survivors, caregivers, family members and professionals.

What began in 1983 as a grassroots effort has grown into a strong statewide presence, providing valuable life-long resources and community support for individuals with all types of brain trauma at no charge.