Sarah Lockey’s role as a Customer Success Manager is etched with emotional beginnings, passion beyond reason, and unwavering determination. The mother-of-four is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to helping people reach their goals of getting bionic arms and helping her family fulfil their dreams. 

Sarah, take us back to the start

The Hero Arm is the technology that we could have only dreamt of when my daughter had her hands amputated at 15-months old (Tilly’s bionic journey).

When you are faced with someone telling you that your child is about to die due to having Meningitis Septicaemia and when you feel like your world is falling apart but she is so tiny and fights and fights and fights for her life and survives. That moment changed my life forever. 

How do you as a family heal from something so life-changing? 

The night before Tilly went in to have her hands amputated I made her a promise. I promised her that one day I would give her her hands back and I think finding Open Bionics and the commitment that they have to listening to what the customer wants has helped me fulfil my promise. 

Do you think that promise still resonates in your role as a Customer Success Manager at Open Bionics? 

My job at Open Bionics is not only a job to me. Supporting people through the task of funding a Hero Arm is a passion beyond words.

How does Tilly feel about prosthetics? 

In the early days we had to make that difficult decision of whether we wanted Tilly to use prosthetics. It is a financial challenge that you do have to plan for and I feel it is a really daunting decision to make. It was out of the question for us as a family to afford some of the other multi-grips available. So, it was a blessing when Open Bionics launched a lower cost version that they help make even more accessible by offering funding support. 

For Tilly, the Hero Arm is the closest prosthetic to having her hands back and when she has gone from hiding ‘life -like’ looking prosthetics in drawers to smiling and saying:

What advice would you give parents who are facing difficult decisions about their children? 

People parent so differently. When children are going through something difficult, I try not to make too much of a big deal, and just be there to listen and be really supportive if they need it. 

What advice would you give parents with children who have a limb difference? 

Don’t treat them any differently to your other children just because they have a difference and I compliment my four daughters so much everyday! They totally know how loved they are and I tell them numerous times a day how beautiful they are and what I love about them. 

Tilly is so confident, what advice would you give parents who want to see their children’s confidence blossom? 

I focus more on the positives than the negatives. I build my children’s confidence so high that if people are mean and bully them for whatever makes them different they don’t really listen too much because they have been told that bullies bully normally because they have their own insecurities etc. and need their own help. Tilly is a prime example of someone that has had to face many difficulties but the way we have handled it and brought her up shows that just because you have a disability doesn’t mean that you can’t go onto great things – she has turned what others see as a disability into her ability that makes her stand out and created a whole career around it!

As well as being a mother of four, you support so many people in your role at Open Bionics

My role at Open Bionics is to help people who were in my exact position, in need of a life-changing device and also searching for a way to fund it. I’m here to make your bionic journey as easy as possible. I can share grants available, the charities that cover prosthetic costs and I feel very proud to say I have helped many many people receive Hero Arms totally free of cost. 

Register your interest to find out more about the Open Bionics funding support programme and to book a call with Sarah.