Help me get my Hero Arm

Hello,

My name is Billie & I am 26 years old. I live in London with my daughter, Sophie aged 4.

To those who know me in my personal life this will probably come as a shock to you as this is never something I would’ve thought I would be doing.

I was born in 1995 & to the surprise of my mum I was born without the lower half of my left arm. There was no medical reasoning for this, it just kinda happened!

My disability didn’t affect my childhood at all, I was outgoing, confident & felt no different to anyone else, but as I grew older & went to secondary school I became very self conscious about my arm difference due to hitting puberty & dealing with some school bullies & so from the age of around 12 I have covered my arm up ever since.

Now that I have a daughter I have started to see how important it is to show self confidence & not be ashamed, especially of something you can not change. I want my daughter to be proud of me and to know that it’s perfectly okay to be different.

I want to be able to go out without constantly worrying about whether anyone’s noticed my disability or subconsciously thinking that people are staring/talking about me.

That’s where the Hero Arm comes into it. In mid 2021 I was told by a lovely man on Tiktok about a company called Open Bionics who have created the most lightweight (and most attractive looking in my opinion!) bionic arm.

They’re a bionics company developing affordable, assistive devices that enhance the human body. They started by introducing the Hero Arm, a clinically approved 3D printed stylish multi-grip bionic hand. And they’re on a mission to make 3D prosthetics beautiful, functional and more accessible.

The Hero Arm, however, is not cheap- the price ranges from £7000-£15,000 (give or take) depending on what specs you need on it. So this is where I ask for your help.

I can not express to you how grateful & appreciative I would be for any kind of donation towards this journey for me. It’s not something I ever thought I would be able to get. Or even try to get.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my short story! I really appreciate it!

Billie x

My Instagram is billiejocass if you would like a little insight into my life!