A DALGETY Bay business has given a bionic boost to local boy Josh Cathcart by presenting a £3500 cheque to the fund for his new arm.
The Press has been following the story of nine-year-old Josh, of Meadowfield, who was subjected to cruel taunts from vicious bullies for being born with the lower half of his right arm missing. However thanks to the family’s fundraising efforts, the youngster became first child in the UK – and possibly the youngest in the world – to be fitted with a bionic hand.
Josh was so desperate to be “normal”, he wanted to sell his computer and Xbox to get a new arm but thanks to a generous family donation and the help of people from West Fife and beyond, he was “over the moon” after being fitted with the £42,000 ‘i-limb quantum’ bionic hand. Now, he can move his hand in any of four directions to activate the desired grip and do everyday things, from using a knife and fork to catching a ball.
Josh is expected to get about five years out of the hand before needing a new one but will outgrow the elbow socket in nine months to a year. For parents James and Clare, it’s just as important to make sure they can afford a replacement when the times comes and the effort to raise money for it has continued to grow.
Caroline Ness, HR manager at First Scottish, said: “We heard about the fundraising for a bionic arm for Josh from his uncle, Kevin Donnelly, who works for the First Scottish Group in Dalgety Bay and decided that we wanted to do something to help.
“During May and June we had various events including dress down Fridays, baking day, tombola, football tournament, penny wars and also had personal donations and a company donation which all amounted to £3500.32.”
Donations can be made at http://www.gofundme.com/sr9hb9h8
(This article was originally published by Dunfermline Press, original article).