We are a local family and we are hoping to raise enough money to help our daughter Caitlin get an amazing Open Bionics Hero Arm.
Caitlin is now 6 years old and she was born with a “little hand”. As a baby it didn’t initially seem to cause any obvious issues and it never stopped her crawling around and grabbing things she shouldn’t. Rather than suck her thumb, she loved to put her whole “little hand” in her mouth which would freak people out! In fact she still does it from time to time. As she grew up and started doing more things for herself it became more apparent that certain things were going to be hard for her. Even now we find the odd new thing that she struggles with, but she is just like every other typical young lady who loves to draw, dance, sing, play, dress up, create with arts and crafts and cycling.
As Caitlin’s limb difference is congenital, there is an element of “she doesn’t know any different”. There is a significant truth to this; she is very independent, and she will always figure out her own way of doing most things herself and thrives doing it too. That said, there are many daily mundane tasks we all take for granted that she simply struggles with: holding a knife and fork at the same time, holding a drink and carrying a bag, holding a piece of paper and cutting it, carrying a tray “safely”, unwrapping and eating an ice-cream, doing zips on coats and hoodies, holding a mirror while doing her make-up and skipping. These are just a few of the things that she struggles with and can take her longer to do which then gets her down and frustrated.
As her parents it breaks our hearts when we see her struggle and we do our best to not just jump in and help her out which is so difficult sometimes, but we know it will only make her more frustrated, but at the same time we are so proud of her perseverance in never giving up trying to do something. We are not exaggerating when we say a Hero Arm will change her life in such a significant way as it will help her achieve these daily tasks with ease and as quickly as her friends do so she is not left behind The ability to be fully self-sufficient will allow her confidence to grow as she gets older and simply puts her back on a more level playing field with others now and in the future.
The Open Bionics Hero Arm™ is an advanced, lightweight, 3D printed bionic arm, with multi-grip functionality and empowering aesthetics. Engineered and manufactured in the UK, it is now available in over 800 locations around the world.
We are kindly requesting your support in helping us reach our target to purchase a Hero Arm for Caitlin. All donations made to the Go Fund Me page (gf.me/u/37iiiz) will be put directly towards Caitlin’s Hero Arm. Even if you are unable to contribute financially then it would still be amazing if you could help share our story with others who may be able to make a kind donation. Simply put - thank you!
