Seven-year-old Harmonie-Rose Allen can hold her mother’s hand for the very first time – thanks to her revolutionary bionic arm.
It’s a day her parents never thought they would see as their daughter had to have all four limbs removed at the age of 10 months after contracting meningitis.
They feared Harmonie would be condemned to a life of misery and loneliness, but the youngster refused to be told what she couldn’t do – going on to thrive in mainstream school and raise thousands of pounds for charity.
On Thursday, after months of fittings and adjustments, Harmonie got to take her arm home from the Dorset Orthopaedic Clinic in Ringwood.
She received two prosthetic legs from the clinic three years ago, but they do not have the same cutting-edge technology.
Her new Myo Electric prosthetic has special sensors that react to electrical pulses on the surface of the skin and mimic human movement.
This means Harmonie can now bend her new wrist and elbow effortlessly.
Mum Freya, 27, said: “While she’s achieved so much in her short life, this means she can do other things we all take for granted, like opening door handles and holding my hand – something she’s always dreamed of.”
During the first lockdown last year – when the 2020 London Marathon was cancelled – Harmonie carried out her own 2.6 Challenge.
She raised a staggering £76,000 by jumping 26 times on a trampoline, doing 26 cartwheels, running 2.6 metres 26 times without prosthetic legs, drawing 26 ‘Stay Safe’ rainbow posters, swimming to the bottom of a pool 26 times, and reciting the alphabet 26 times.
Just before Christmas, Harmonie was told she had been selected to join the ‘Lionhearts’ squad as one of the 21 everyday heroes of the pandemic.
Others included Captain Sir Tom Moore and Joe Wicks.
Freya said: “Getting this new arm has capped off the best year ever for Harmonie.
“If she ever wanted to pick something up before, she would have to hold it between her head and her stump.
"She never gave up, but this will give her such a boost.”
Harmonie has always managed to keep up with her schoolfriends in her home town of Bath, but Freya said that having her new arm “will really get her creative juices flowing”.
In 2019, Harmonie did the Bath Half-Marathon in a wheelchair, walking the final section on her prosthetic legs.
Last summer, she was named the youngest-ever ambassador for Meningitis Now.
And in November, she received a gold medal from the International Paralympic Committee’s Inclusive Sports Challenge.
Freya said: “All Harmonie ever wants to do is inspire others to not give up,” added Freya.
