NAUGATUCK, Conn. (AP) – When Robert Lingl lost his left hand after an accident in 1990, doctors in Chicago told him they could replace it with a “paddle” made of his own skin and bone. They also told him the paddle was likely to rot over time.

Lingl opted out of that procedure and spent the next 18 years finding creative ways to work around the house, play ball with his children and wrap electronic components at his job in Sandy Hook.

Now, thanks to advances in prosthetic technology, Lingl has a fully functional robotic hand that will enable him to grab change, grip a baseball and, eventually, manage more difficult movements like typing on a keyboard.

Earlier this month, Lingl, 49, of Naugatuck, became one of the first people in Connecticut to receive the i-Limb hand, which uses sensors from a microprocessor to read signals emitted from his arm muscles to move all five of his motorized bionic fingers.

“I can get back the quality of life I once knew,” he said after receiving the prosthetic at Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics in Waterbury. “I can grab a rod and reel and bait my own hook.

I can play sports with my boys.”

Learning how to control the fingers is difficult, but Lingl had a head start; he has practiced moving the muscles in his arm that connect to his fingers just about every day since his hand was amputated three inches below the wrist on June 6, 1990.

“I never wanted to lose the sensation because I always hoped something like this would come along,” he said.

His tribulations taught him to be strong and patient, two traits that helped him when dealing with his insurance company, which at first did not want to pay for the $100,000 i-Limb. After the insurer denied his request twice, he applied a third time and was approved.

Lingl hopes more people are able to use the i-Limb and similar products to improve the quality of their lives.

He said it is going to take time and practice before he is able to perform all the tasks he once did, like cutting into food with a fork and knife or putting on a mitt to play baseball.

“But I will get there,” he said. “I’m determined.”