Children with limb difference to get 'life-changing' prosthetic arms

Thalia Coultas says she hopes to put "make-up" on her mum when she gets her arm

A girl with a limb difference has said she is "very excited" about getting a prosthetic arm.

Thalia Coultas, seven, from Drax, near Selby, was born with an arm that had not formed and has been entitled to a non-functional NHS prosthetic.

However the family, and those of two other children with limb difference, have raised money to purchase an Open Bionics Hero Arm.

It is more functional and enables the user to open and close their fist.

"I am very, very, very excited. I am going to use it to do everything - I will put make-up on Mummy," Thalia said.

Her mother Kerrie said the new arm would enable her daughter to do far more.

"It connects to Thalia's arm with sensors on two sides and through her using her muscles, she can actually open and close the fist.

"Eventually with a lot of practice, she will be able to pinch and move her fingers separately," she said.

Mrs Coultas said the arms were now in production and they hoped they would be ready by the middle of November.

Alexia Robinson is one of the three children who will now receive the Hero Arm

Mrs Coultas said Thalia had asked for the arm since she was a toddler.

"In pre-school, I just remember her saying to her teachers all the time, 'I'm going to have a robot arm when I'm older'," she added.

The arms cost £13,500 and are produced by Open Bionics.

Its foundation provided Thalia, eight-year-old Alexia Robinson from Middlesbrough and a teenage boy from Barnsley with £5,000 each towards the costs.

They were also given £3,000 by the Worshipful Company of the Glovers, which left the families to find a further £16,000 between them.

However, Mrs Coultas said the charity Teesside Family Foundation had offered to match the fundraising amount once they reached £8,000.

She said it had been "a bit emotional" seeing their target surpassed.

'Life-changing journey'

"It's amazing because it's not something that either of these three families would be able to afford on their own," she said.

Alexia Robinson's mother Angela said it had not been easy to ask for people's help "especially in this day and age".

However, she said they had been "overwhelmed by people's support" and had been left "speechless" by the charity's gesture.

She said the arm would make a major difference to her daughter and the other two children.

"It is a huge life-changing journey for them all," she said.