Remi Bateman was born without her left forearm and hands, but she didn’t slow it down.
Now 9 years old, Bateman is busy riding bikes and scooters around his Utah neighborhood. And she aims to do more everyday work, such as cutting her own food and doing her own hair.
Remi uses silicone prosthetics covered in her health insurance as she was six months old. The prosthetics are useful, but they are heavy and do not give her the ability to move her fingers.
“Her current prosthetics are pretty stationary and don’t do much,” her mother, Jami, told CBS Morning. Remi’s prosthetic hands were molded into plastic fists.
“Life Change” Mission
Last year, Jami came across social media posts about open bionics and its 3D printed multi-grip “Hero Arm.” Each finger has its own motor, allowing you to accurately grasp everyday items. Within 48 hours, Jamie and her husband Josh ran to a clinic in Denver, Colorado, for their first fitting, scheduled for a video consultation with Open Bionics.
“It was life-changing,” Jami said. “This bionic arm is like 95% of people who have real hands.”
The Batemans wanted the insurance to help pay the hero arm, but their providers refused to cover it, saying it was “not medically necessary.” Without insurance, the bionic arm costs $24,000.
“I understand that you can live well without (without hands), but imagine what you can do with both hands. I’m surrounded by the whole world having both hands. It feels like it’s being built,” Jami said.
Like many Americans with medical needs that are not covered by insurance, the Batemans turned to crowdsourcing.
On December 10th, 2024, Remi’s Battle of Hero Arms made local news. Within four days, Batemans raised over $24,000. Andy Schoonover, CEO of CrowdHealth, a subscriber-based CrowdFunding Platform for Medical Bills, also contacted Batemans after seeing a petition seeking help online.
“He said he would pay Remi’s hand in cash,” Jami said.
And that’s where the stories come in order.
Pay before that
With Schoonover’s gift, Jami realized they still have a donation of $24,000. She asked her daughter what she wanted to do with it.
Provided by Kaitlin Skinner
“Please help more children,” Remi replied enthusiastically. “That’s why people can actually have a life-changing arm like me.”
Nationwide in Maryland, 9-year-old Tyraun “Taj” Johnson was also trying to raise money for his hero’s arms. He was born with a partial left hand. His family worked as a hand specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, looking at surgery and various prosthetic options, using some left hand. They were hoping that the hero arm could be the solution they were looking for.
But like Remi, the Taj health insurance company denied reporting on Hero Arm. His family was devastated.
“You tell me that your child can function at work every day. It’s as small as feeding yourself or dressing… You don’t need it medically. Are you saying that?” asked his mother, Caitlyn Skinner.
“I’d give the Taj a left hand if possible,” Caitlin added.
The family started a lemonade stand to raise money for the bionic arm. In four months, they only made $1,500.
They then received a life-changing call from Remi’s mom. Bateman offers to use the donations he received for Remi’s arm for the Taj hero arm.
Open bionics helped families connect. Samantha Payne, co-founder of Open Bionics, said CBS News clinicians spend a lot of time helping families with their attractive insurance denials. “The technology is 20 years old and has been tested,” Payne added.
Your dream comes true
CBS morning
Caitlyn was shed tears from the generous offer of the Batemans and thanked her for making Taj’s dream come true.
“Taj was teary-eyed when he saw the video of Remi holding a fork in the hero’s arm,” Caitlyn said. One of the things Taj looks forward to most is playing sports.
Kaitlin recently went to New York City with Taj to meet Daniel Green, the Open Bionics upper limb prosthesis. While in New York, the Taj had a surprising visitor: Remi and her mom. They arrived at our invitation.
A new friendship fake through the kindness of a stranger. Remi and Taj are scheduled to meet again in the summer.
“If you have a playdate with (hero) robot arms, you could be like Iron Man,” Remi said.
Donations to Remi continued to pour in. So she continues to pay it forward. Using the fund, two more 11-year-olds funded the hero’s weapons after insurance refused to claim.
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