Mum 'emotional' after son's life-changing moment

A mum said she was "emotional but very excited" as her teenage son's face "lit up" when he used a bionic arm for the first time. Lewis Corner was born with Poland Syndrome, a disorder in which affected individuals are born with missing or underdeveloped muscles on one side of the body, resulting in abnormalities that can affect the chest, shoulder, arm and hand.

The 16-year-old, who's family is from Huyton, was born with his left arm and hand considerably smaller than the other one and without a pectoralis major. His hand only had two fingers which were webbed together.

Over the years, he has had almost a dozen operations in order to improve his movement and function, but his condition has left him "very self-conscious" and "unable to do the same activities as his friends". Now, Lewis, who has dreams of becoming a firefighter, has found a device which will allow him to "become an independent and self-sufficient adult".

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His mum, Gillian, said: "Lewis was born with something called Poland Syndrome which affects the left side of his body, so he has a smaller arm and a very small hand that doesn’t really function. He’s also got a missing pec major and muscle missing in his back as well.

"He had his first surgery when he was about three months old. He must have had 10 or 11 operations over the years to try to get more function in his hand. Surgeries have been great and have improved things to some degree but he struggles with fine motor skills and things like riding a bike, kayaking - he could never use a scooter and had to kind of hook his arm underneath.

"He’s got to the age he is now and started going to the gym and that sort of thing, but he really struggles with lifting weights and stuff because he hasn’t got any flection on his left hand."

She added: "Watching all of that over the years, when he got to different stages of his life, and just seeing all the other kids do stuff easily which he couldn’t, it was awful and heart-breaking and I wanted it to be me instead. But he always got on and found a way around things. After some operations, he’d use his nose to play some games on the computer."

Lewis recently discovered a device called a Hero Flex, a new 3D printed activity arm by Open Bionics. Gillian said: "We discovered Open Bionics which is very, very exciting. Hopefully, once we get it, he will be able to do the things that all his friends do - stuff that you take for granted really like riding a bike.

"We went for our appointment at Open Bionics and were greeted by the most wonderful man who made a cast for Lewis because there was a little bit of worry about whether it would actually work. We went back the following day and he had adapted some bits for the hand and I got to see Lewis lifting a bar up with both hands.

"It was just fantastic, his face lit up and it was very emotional. Very emotional but very exciting. The thought that he’s just going to be able to fly now in life and do all those things that he’s not been able to do - as a parent, basic things that you want them to enjoy. It’s going to open up his whole world."

However, the Hero Flex is not cheap and Gillian is crowdfunding in order to finance it. She said: "Like all wonderful, life changing things, the hero flex comes with a cost.

"Having gone through the initial process with Open Bionics and discovering that Lewis is a suitable candidate, I need to raise the last £3,000 for the Hero Flex attachments. As his mum, I will strive to raise this money, and to anyone who contributes, either by donating or sharing my post, I will be eternally grateful.

"I'm raising money through The Open Bionics Foundation, and any donation will help Lewis in funding his Hero Flex. Any extra donations will go towards supporting another person in need."

The Open Bionics Foundation provides financial support to people affected by socio-economic deprivation with limb differences who need multi-grip upper limb prosthetics. Gillian added: "Lewis is looking forward to going to the gym, lifting weights and just being able to access all of the machines because there’s certain things he’s not been able to do.

"We’ve tried so many different adaptions that we’ve bought over the years but this now will mean he can just use all of the equipment, and go kayaking and paddle boarding and be on his bike and feel comfortable and safe. It’s going to open up so many opportunities for him.

"Lewis wants to be a firefighter; he goes to fire cadets but it will mean, in fire cadets, he will be able to do more of the activities which he hasn’t been able to do. With Lewis’ pec major being missing, it’s very noticeable when you look at him and he hasn’t got a top on.

"He hasn’t been able to build his left side up because he’s not been able to use his left arm in the gym, so this will mean he can build up muscle there. He’s been very, very self conscious about that.

"This will change Lewis’ life, from the small little tasks which we all take for granted to the bigger things like being able to use the gym and ride his bike. I keep picturing him holding that bar - it’s amazing.". To donate towards Lewis' Hero Flex, you can click here.