...Did this person loose their arm fairly recently or were they born that way?
I went to uni with a gal who was a Thalidomide baby, she had hands coming out of her shoulders, but not arms. She did just about everything you could imagine, and did not let her handicap slow her down, heck she rode a bicycle (with long tall handlebars). She said she was not "Handicapped" but she had "a handicap", a huge difference.
...
Still haven't met the guy or heard his story, but I can share others...
I worked with a guy many years ago who lost an arm at the shoulder. Had a hook that was articulated (based on the way he twisted his back), and was able to light his cigarette with a match from a matchbook. He also had a fake hand that replaced the hook on social occasions, that he called his club, since it wasn't near as good as his hook. (Cigarette and hook show you how many years ago this was.)
I had a friend who was blind... a teacher. I visited him at his school (he lived a couple blocks away and walked to work, without a guide dog or anything). He told me where the light switches were in the men's room, since the lights were likely off at this school for the blind. It was the only restroom I have ever been in that didn't have mirrors.
Later I was in an accident where I lost my sight for several days (6 weeks before I could read again), and lost use of my hands for months (3 surgeons spent 3 hours putting me back together again). I was more worried about my hands than about my eyesight, seeing how well my blind friend could cope.
Sooo, I am looking forward to meeting this guy, and helping any way I can. But the invitation to visit my shop and try my slider and power feeder are contingent on his having acclimated to his loss... not a recent amputee who is struggling to cope.
I did get a PM from someone in Ireland who scanned an article from an English WW magazine about a woodworker who lost use of one arm in a stroke. Both an inspiring story and good ideas that I have already shared with the course instructor. This Internet thing really works