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After 40 Years As a Double Amputee, Man Gains Two Bionic Arms
MojoKid writes Les Baugh, a Colorado man who lost both arms in an electrical accident 40 years ago, is looking forward to being able to insert change into a soda machine and retrieving the beverage himself. But thanks to the wonders of science and technology — and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) — he'll regain some of those functions while making history as the first bilateral shoulder-level amputee to wear and simultaneously control two Modular Prosthetic Limbs (MPLs). "It's a relatively new surgical procedure that reassigns nerves that once controlled the arm and the hand," explained Johns Hopkins Trauma Surgeon Albert Chi, M.D. "By reassigning existing nerves, we can make it possible for people who have had upper-arm amputations to control their prosthetic devices by merely thinking about the action they want to perform."
I can comment with some authority on this (this is my cousin in the article!)
Yes, an electrical accident can make you lose both arms and stop your heart, however the fall that occurred afterwards (at least according to the doctor) restarted his heart. I saw the sun glasses he was wearing that changed color based on sunlight (which were permanently stuck in a darkened state) so the whole situation and environment around this was probably a once in a lifetime situation.