A girl from County Durham is now able to pick up objects as small as a marble after having two bionic hands fitted, thanks to the creators of Alita: Battle Angel. At 15-months-old Tilley Lockey, from Consett, survived meningococcal septicaemia, but her hands and toes were amputated.
Tilly, now 13, is an advocate for kids with prosthetics and was surprised by the creators of major Hollywood film Alita: Battle Angel with innovative bionic hands before the blockbuster’s London red carpet premiere late last month. The hands were designed by Open Bionics, based in Bristol. In 2016 Tilly was fitted with one of their first prototypes.
Per Yahoo Movies UK, Tilly was told she was needed at The Dorchester Hotel in London for a photo shoot only to be surprised by the Twentieth Century Fox team. “She was in one room and the film crew were waiting secretly next door,” Tilly’s mum Sarah explained. “She had come down to London thinking she was just coming for a photo shoot – so it was a complete surprise when the film crew came in and presented her with her new arms, telling her she was a real-life Alita.”
The film’s producer James Cameron is a big fan of Tilly’s. “Tilly has grown up to be an incredible person and has never let her disability hold her back in anyway,” he said. “Prosthetic arms aren’t cheap, especially for children. As Tilly grows from baby to child and child to adult, she needs replacement arms to match her body as she gets older. So, we decided to have the Alita design team to work with Open Bionics to build her a bespoke pair of advanced prosthetic arms, that are affordable.”
Apart from her huge surprise, Tilly got to play superstar for the evening and walked the Alita: Battle Angel red carpet with actress Rosa Salazar at the London premiere.
Source: Yahoo! Movies UK
