Kevin Eubanks, who suffered a stroke in 2014 has not been able, among other things, to go fishing or give a proper hug since then.
His daughter Emily Sisco, an occupational therapy assistant, is adjunct professor at Arkansas State University. She wanted her Occupational Therapy Assistant students experience working with a real client so she challenged them to design adaptive equipment that could aid her dad in various tasks.
Emily showed them a video of Kevin completing his daily activities and she suggested the idea. The students also FaceTimed Kevin after watching the video to learn more about his likes and dislikes.
He shared with them that he missed fishing and playing with his grandkids. He also misses hugging people with both arms.
Emily’s students rose to the challenge. They created devices that could help those with mobility issues perform various activities such as fishing, showering, and playing cards easier, but the crowd favorite was “The Hugger.”
“He said he didn’t feel like it was the same anymore now that he couldn’t (hug),” Emily said. “I had one group that took this one small statement and ran with it.”
Kevin had weakness in his left arm, so the students came up with “The Hugger,” now named “HugAgain,” a device that would allow him to give two-armed hugs again.
“The Hugger is made for those who have low or no function in one of their arms and want the opportunity to hug again!! Hugging can be therapeutic and have many health benefits. We all want to hug the ones we love!” said its inventors.
The equipment was created by Larissa Garcia, Erica Dexter, Casey Parsons, and Lisa James, occupational therapy assistants.
“We created a strap that he could grab with the other hand and wrap around another person,” Lisa told TODAY.
Larissa said they wanted to create a piece of equipment that would be “meaningful” to Kevin. It was.
Kevin’s emotional reaction to using the HugAgain for the first time was captured on video by Emily. The three-minute video features Emily introducing the device to Kevin’s dad and helping him put it on.
She wraps the HugAgain—which had Velcro straps—around her dad’s left wrist while mentioning that it had really soft material. Emily then calls Cope, one her sons, to stand in front his grandpa.
Kevin grabs the end of the HugAgain in his right hand and raises his arms to call the boy for a hug.
He immediately begins to cry while hugging his grandson with both arms—something he hasn’t done in eight years.
When Emily asked Kevin what he wanted to say to the students, Kevin replied:
“I appreciate everything y’all have done. This is a dream of mine.”
Rigley was also a grandson of his. He was then given a hug.
“Come here, young man,” he said before lifting his arms up with the help of the HugAgain.
It was shared by Emily on February 3, and has been viewed more than 4.6 million time on Facebook. This video has also received positive reactions from many viewers.
Kevin believes that HugAgain’s lingering pandemic is responsible for the positive feedback he received about his experience with HugAgain.
“The lack of human interaction [has] people craving intimate touch,” he said. “Don’t ever take the little things for granted.”
Kevin personally thanked the students of Arkansas State University for their adaptive equipment, which made a significant difference in his life.
“I hope it’s encouraging people to never give up,” Kevin said of his viral video. “I want them to see that after eight years of not being able to hug, I now can again, so don’t ever give up.”
HugAgain’s design is being improved by students. They have also created a Facebook page for the product, where they’ll be posting updates once it’s available to the public.
See Kevin’s heartwarming reaction to being able to hug his grandsons again in the video below.
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