11-year-old double amputee Bella Tadlock, from Tallahassee, Florida, is a huge Star Wars fan and asked for an R2-D2 Star Wars prosthetic arm. We knew a fan of Bella’s from a galaxy far, far away… and surprised Bella with a Skype call from the one and only Mark Hamill. Luke Skywalker, y’all! Watch the full video below.
Bella, who was born without her hands, is the first person in the USA to receive a Hero Arm with a new Star Wars R2-D2 design. Bella crowdfunded for her multi-grip bionic arm, and her crowdfunding campaign was boosted by a tweet from Mark Hamill in November 2019. Upon getting her arm, Bella said: “I now have two hands! I am so excited. I will be able to ride my bike, create in the kitchen and be like my friends. To be able to bend my fingers and pick things up is a dream come true.”
A massive fan of Star Wars – with a Skype call, where she was able to show off her new bionic arm, and demonstrate what she could do with it. Hamill, known for playing the role of Luke Skywalker was suitably impressed when Bella picked up a bottle, exclaiming: “That is great – that is so fantastic! I’m so happy that you were able to have this happen for you.” He continued: “Open Bionics is doing such great work, and this is the kind of thing that’s really meaningful to me.”
Bella’s mum, Pamela Tadlock, said: “This is completely life-changing. Since Isabella was adopted at a few weeks old she has overcome huge obstacles and endured many surgeries. Now she has a hand, with no surgery and no pain. I’m so grateful to Open Bionics and Hanger Clinic. Bella likes Luke Skywalker because he lost a hand and was adopted like her. She also likes R2-D2 because he’s a robot with cool patterns and was there in the beginning. She said that talking with Mark Hamill was very cool and that he was very nice.”
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To be able to bend my fingers and pick things up is a dream come true. – Bella
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