Tatiana's Hero Arms fund

Hi my name is Tatiana Timon. I am 35 years old. I am originally from Reunion Island, a very small island in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Mauritius. I have lived in the UK for over 10 years and, the last eight of those 10 years has been in London.

April 2022, I ended up in hospital and was in a coma for 4 weeks, fighting for my life after discovering due to an unrelated bike accident, that I had severe malaria. For context, severe malaria is when you have a 4% parasite level in your blood, at the time of discovery, I had an 18% parasite level in my blood – a level higher than the record 8% that had been dealt with by the Hospital of Tropical disease – UCLH. It was impossible for the doctors to say if I would make it.

As a result of the disease, I had issues with my lung function and was on a ventilator, my kidney function – and was on dialysis and my liver and blood flow- for which I was on multiple infusions of medication. It was mentioned that if not for my fitness level, my body would not have been able to handle all of the medication and treatments that were given to me.

As a result of the medication, blood was pulled from my extremities to support my key organ function resulting in me having to have a quadruple amputation. Bilateral below knee and below elbow amputations. As you can imagine, I woke up devastated.

Prior to my accident, I worked in the catering industry. I was promoted to Assistant Restaurant Manager a month before my accident, I was really excited about it and proud of the accomplishment and journey I had within my company. I travelled to work by bicycle which was a 20-30 minute ride.

I have always been active and preach a healthy lifestyle. I attended the gym four times a week. I took meal prep seriously having a love for cooking and for healthy eating. In addition I was a keen calisthenics beginner– a sport requiring a lot of body strength and core control. I even starting climbing with a friend of mine on occasion. My life was great and I loved it!

My true love is dance – specifically kizomba, a dance originating in Angola. I attended regular classes and even a showcase or two. In order to take my dancing to the next level, I went on a dream holiday to Angola to learn from the masters to improve my dancing. My dream holiday almost killed me.

I returned from the holiday to a life of normality until I had an accident on the bike. I went to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel and was sent home with painkillers after 8 hours in A&E. As the week went on, I got worse and eventually had to picked up by an ambulance and taken to A&E. It was at this point that the malaria was discovered and I was immediately taken to the ICU. The next day I was placed into an induced coma and thus a battle began. On the first night, my friends were called to say goodbye and my last rites were read. Miraculously I survived that night, despite the doctors thinking I would not make it. My company flew my dad out from Reunion Island and from the moment he arrived, he was by my bedside praying. I remained in a coma for 4 weeks.

My dad has now returned to Reunion, as this is where my family live. My friends here in London are like my family and given my new disabled status, having a support network is so key.

While I was at the hospital, my dance teacher and my work manager had created a GoFundMe focusing on getting funding for the best prosthetic legs that can help me dance again https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-tatiana-dance-with-us-again

After 3months in the hospital and 7months at the amputee rehabilitation centre, my recovery has been good, I am ready for the next step which is being as independent as I can and for that I need a hand. And a Hero arms would be a perfect start for my new adventure. So I have set up this gofundme with the support of The Open Bionics Foundation Charity to try and raise the money that I would need to buy two Hero Arms.

If you could please support me in my campaign to get my Hero Arms so that I can continue to build my life and body back together I will be forever grateful.

Thankyou so much for your support.

Tatiana xxx

I'm raising money for my Hero Arms through The Open Bionics Foundation and every donation will help me get my Hero Arms. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

More information about The Open Bionics Foundation: The Open Bionics Foundation provides financial support to socioeconomically deprived people with limb differences who need multi-grip upper limb prosthetics.