Those of us who are lucky to have four, fully-functioning limbs don’t know how easy we have it. There are individuals out there who weren’t born with all of their limbs, lost a limb in an accident or had to have one amputated due to a serious condition, or have a setback, such as muscle atrophy or paralysis, that prevents them from using their limbs as intended.
11-year-old Isabella Tadlock from Tallahassee, Florida is one person who, at birth, was missing parts of her limbs. According to her family, Isabella was born without fingers on her right hand and no hand on her left arm. She underwent multiple operations to have three fingers and a thumb surgically attached to her right hand. Although they’ve been a big help, she was still left with little function of her left arm, making the everyday tasks we perform so effortlessly much more difficult for her.
Then Isabella saw a video of a little boy with a bionic arm online. That’s when Isabella’s family decided to start a fundraiser, so she, too, could receive a similar piece of life-changing equipment. With 77 generous donors, the fundraiser gathered nearly $14,000, almost $4,000 greater than the original campaign goal!
Much of the fundraiser’s success is thanks to Star Wars star, Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the movie series. Hamill AKA Luke retweeted Isabella’s nanny’s post on Twitter that contained the link to the fundraiser back in November 2019. Some of Hamill’s large following of over 3.6 million people gladly took the time to donate while other folks retweeted his tweet or even commemorated the star for his interest in helping Isabella.
Not only did Isabella receive a cool, Star Wars-themed bionic arm resembling character R2-D2, but she was able to meet Hamill via video chat on February 20, 2020.
“I heard you’re a ‘Star Wars’ fan. But I have to tell you, I’m a big fan of yours. I’m so proud of you. They call it a hero arm because you really are a hero,” Hamill told her in the video chat.
It will be a conversation Isabella will remember forever!
And although she has had her new bionic arm for less than a month now, so far, it has made a world of difference for her.
“I am so excited. I will be able to ride my bike, swing on the monkey bars, create in the kitchen and be like my friends,” Isabella said.
Isabella’s mother, Pamela Tadlock, also sees a big difference in her daughter.
“It’s helping tremendously with her self-esteem and confidence. Just last night for the first time she was able to blow dry her hair by herself,” she said.
It’s so exciting to be able to do things that you’ve been wanting to do but never have been able to! This has been Isabella’s dream for a long time, and now she’s finally obtained it. She must be over the moon!
Meet Isabella below.
