Tilly Lockey, 17, is a double amputee known on social media for her bionic arms.
The ‘Hero Arms’, which were developed by Open bionicsenabled her to become independent and do “pretty much anything humans can do with hands.”
You can even change the covers for the arms, which Tilly often does to match her outfits and share the result on social media.
In a recent video, Tilly shared the story about how she lost both her hands as a baby and warned others about her symptoms.
She filmed a “Get ready with me” video, in which the 17-year-old did her makeup on camera, while showing her followers how it was done.
Tilly Lockey, 17, is a double amputee known on social media for her bionic arms
She said, ‘First of all, was I born this way? No, I wasn’t, I was born with all four limbs and finally got sick when I was 15 months old.
‘At first it was just cold and flu like symptoms but my mom took me to get it checked anyway so we went to the doctors and they diagnosed an ear infection, gave me some tablets and sent me home. ‘
She continued, “My mom had a hunch it was more than just an ear infection, but of course you go to the doctors, the doctors tell you that and you trust them because they are the experts.
“It’s thanks to her and her intuition and maternal instinct that’s probably one of the main reasons I live here today.
“Right now I’m taking antibiotics or whatever it was for my ear infection, I thought that’s what it was, but then there was a symptom that showed up at home that my family has to figure out for themselves and it kind of caused my mom to strain.”
Tilly’s mother knew “exactly what it was” and it was much more serious than an ear infection.
She explained that her grandmother had found a so-called blood poisoning on her skin.
In a ‘Get ready with me’ video, in which the 17-year-old did her makeup on camera, she told her followers how it happened
Tilly’s mother described the rash as “raindrops hitting a puddle appearing on her skin in the ambulance”
People with sepsis often develop a hemorrhagic rash, which gradually enlarges and begins to resemble new bruises if left untreated.
She said: ‘the best way to describe that is kind of like blood under the skin that you see in people when they get old, you get little spots under the skin like bruises.
“My grandma called my mom to check it out and check it out and luckily my mom noticed right away, she knew exactly what it was and took me straight to the hospital and called an ambulance.
“The reason I’m grateful is that when you see that result, it’s a race against time at that moment.”
Tilly’s mother described the rash as “raindrops appearing in a puddle on her skin in the ambulance.”
Due to the seriousness of the situation, they had to get there as soon as possible, the rash spread quickly.
She continued, “Long story short, when I got to the hospital it was the worst case they’d ever seen, my family was given 0% chance of survival and they started operating on me almost immediately.”
Tilly was diagnosed with Meningococcal Septicemia Strain B – This is where bacteria enter the bloodstream and multiply, damaging the walls of the blood vessels and causing bleeding in the skin and organs.
People with sepsis often develop a hemorrhagic rash, which gradually enlarges and begins to resemble new bruises if left untreated
As Tilly explained, septicemia “kills your limbs from the tops.”
She concluded the video by saying, “Obviously I’m here today and it was after a week in intensive care, three weeks of recovery, a secondary infection and 10 blood transfusions that I made it through and I’m here today. ‘
When Tilly was in the hospital, her mother promised her that one day she would have hands again – a dream come true when she got her ‘Hero Arms’.
In an interview on the Open the Bionics website, she said, “I discover new things every day that I can do with my Hero Arms. There’s something on the Wii called Just Dance where you have to hold the Wii Remote and dance with it in your hand. Which is clearly proving to be a challenge for me.
‘What I used to do was stick the Wii Remote to my arm, which hurt a lot when I took it off, but at least it worked! But now I can just put my hands on it, grab the Wii Remote and start dancing!’
The TikTok video explaining her story has been viewed more than 750,000 times and the comments are filled with support.
One person wrote, “Thanks for sharing awareness about sepsis! You are smart, beautiful, articulate and great to share your story! Keep sharing!’
Another viewer added, “I used to work for the hospital and met you when you were lying there, even then you were a little bright spark!”
Referring to how she’s adjusting to doing her makeup, one commenter said, “Using your arm as a beauty blender is so cool!”