UPDATE: 10-year-old Raises Over $50,000 to Help Fund Bionic Arms for Herself and Two Children
11th January 2025
11th January 2025
Before Christmas, Remi, a 10-year old from Utah, shared her story about going through the process of getting a Hero Arm. Unfortunately, after her parents appealed twice to their insurance company, it was denied due to being deemed not “medically necessary.”
What followed after the family launched a GoFundMe campaign to gather the necessary funds is a true example of a community rallying together. You can read about how Remi’s story started in our previous blog post.
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People shouldn’t have to have fundraisers to pay for something this important to a child’s health and well-being – Jami Bateman, Remi’s mother
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Remi’s appeal quickly caught the attention of national media. “People shouldn’t have to have fundraisers to pay for something this important to a child’s health and well-being,” said Jami Bateman, Remi’s mother, in a Washington Post article.
While the family have been advocating for better insurance care for prosthetics in the media, a company called CrowdHealth saw Remi’s story and generously offered to cover all medical bills in full so she could get her Hero Arm.
Remi decided to use the GoFundMe donations, which had reached around $30,000, to fund a Hero Arm for Taj, an 8-year-old boy born without a hand who also received an insurance denial. Taj and his family had been fundraising by running lemonade stands.
Kaitlin, Taj’s mom, was overwhelmed with emotion upon hearing the surprise news. “We are just so grateful to Remi and her family. This is a blessing.”
The Hero Arm™ is an advanced, lightweight, 3D printed bionic arm, with multi-grip functionality and empowering aesthetics.
Remi wants the world to understand how vital functional prosthetics are for kids like her. She hopes that in the future, insurance companies will not deny coverage for medical technologies that significantly impact spinal development, mental health, and social participation. These devices enable two-handed tasks and help prevent overuse on one side.
The GoFundMe campaign has now raised over $50,000—enough to cover the costs for a third child to receive a Hero Arm!
Faith, a 10-year-old born without a hand like Remi and Taj, had been crowdfunding for her own Hero Arm and managed to raise $1,200. Faith has been a cheerleader for the past three years for the Hilliard flashes, she did sideline cheer for two years and mascot cheer for one year. This year will be going for junior varsity!
“We’ve had a long road trying to find the right prosthetic for Faith, which has been very difficult. When we found the Hero Arm, we were so excited that Faith was even considered. It’s been a long journey of trying to get donations and only getting so far,” commented Tammy, Faith’s mom.
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Tonight’s call was very emotional, knowing my baby girl would finally get the prosthetic we have been working so hard to obtain. We feel very blessed to receive help from both of them and from Emily.
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Thanks to the incredible donors supporting Remi’s Hero Arm fund, the remaining amount for Faith’s Hero Arm was covered—and Faith is getting her Hero Arm!
Remi and her mom organized a surprise call to share the exciting news.
Tammy and Faith’s CPO at Open Bionics, Emily, was moved to tears. Tammy said, “Tonight’s call was very emotional, knowing my baby girl would finally get the prosthetic we have been working so hard to obtain. We feel very blessed to receive help from both of them and from Emily.”
Emily, Upper Limb Clinician at Open Bionics Orlando Clinic, shared, “I was so happy to be part of the call with Remi and Faith. It was very emotional for all of us and definitely a moment I will remember for a long time. Faith’s insurance plan would not acknowledge that the Hero Arm was a medical necessity despite the obvious positive health impact. I’m so grateful to Remi for helping Faith, and I hope insurance plans seriously reconsider the negative impact denials have on young people and adults.”
Faith expressed her excitement: “It was actually kind of fun to talk to her [Remi]. I didn’t know we were going to be calling her. I was super excited to find out that I was going to get my arm. I want to try and learn to button my pants myself. I want to try to learn how to play the piano.”
Remi couldn’t be more excited to help Taj and Faith and is now trying to fund a third child, a 10 year old boy in LA. Help Remi by donating to her campaign here.
If you or a loved one is interested in exploring the Hero Arm or speaking with one of our expert clinicians, we’d love to help! Join the growing community of individuals gaining independence and confidence with the Hero Arm. Sign up to request more information.