A boy who was born without a right hand is to get a “robot arm” after a kind-hearted commercial vehicle dealer offered to pay the full £13,000 for it.
Seven-year-old Louie Morgan-Kemp was fundraising to get the prosthetic, called the Hero Arm and made by Open Bionics, when Billy Dixon saw his story in the news and contacted Louie’s mother.
Mr Dixon, 73, offered to pay the full amount, with Louie’s mother Hannah Morgan describing the situation as “crazy”, adding that Louie was “so excited that he’s going to get” the Hero Arm.
The youngster, of Swavesey, Cambridgeshire, has been telling people he is getting a “robot arm”, said Ms Morgan, 32.
She said that Mr Dixon, of Egham, Surrey, contacted her on Facebook on Wednesday after he saw Louie’s story in the news.
“He said something along the lines of ‘I want to pay for it, give me a call and I’ll sort it’,” she said.
“He said ‘I’ve had a bad five years’, he wanted to do something good.
“He saw the story and he was paying the whole lot.
“It’s just crazy.
“It’s mental to think someone paid that amount of money that we’ve never met before.”
Mr Dixon, who describes himself as a “general dealer” who buys and sells trucks and vans, said he was moved to pay for the prosthetic after reading of Louie’s fundraising in a newspaper.
“I’ve got nine grandchildren and they’re all healthy and all well,” he said.
“I saw a picture of him in the newspaper yesterday and I went on Facebook to see if his mum was on Facebook.
“She came up on there and I sent a message.
“I just said, listen, don’t worry about it, you just go and get his arm, I’ll pay for it.
“I couldn’t think not to do it, it’s just in my nature doing things like that.”
He said that five years ago, in the same year, he lost a sister, a brother and a son.
“I just thought the world’s a poxy place, if I keep getting all the bad things why can’t I do something good for someone else,” said Mr Dixon.
“That’s how I looked at it.”
He said he was “over the moon” and “can’t wait to see pictures of him with it working”.
Teaching assistant Ms Morgan said Louie has talked about how good it would be to be able to pour his own drink without spilling it, and to carry objects in two hands and not have to balance items against his chest.
Their GoFundMe page went live on Friday, trying to raise £13,000 for the Hero Arm, before Mr Dixon offered to pay in full.
Ms Morgan said she first inquired about a Hero Arm when Louie was two years old but was told they cannot give one to a child until they are seven.
He went to see one at a roadshow last month and was “really excited” and “wants the Ironman sleeve”, she said.
“He said on the way home from the roadshow, he said I’ll be able to drink with two hands without spilling it,” said Ms Morgan.
“It’s just things like that.
“He said ‘I’ll be able to hold two things with two hands, and be able to do stuff that other children do’.
“I suppose it’s stuff we don’t think about that we take for granted.”
Ms Morgan said Louie is going for a fitting for the Hero Arm in early July, and has been told it will take around 15 working days to manufacture.
