By Douglas Whitbread via SWNS
A five-year-old boy born with one hand has become the youngest ever person to be fitted with a bionic arm.
Jordan Marotta was left in a state of “pure joy” when he received his Iron Man-themed ‘Hero Arm’ prosthetic on Wednesday (22/5).
And heartwarming footage showed how just hours later, he was able to whizz around on his scooter while holding the handlebars with the arm’s life-like grip.
Delighted Jordan said about his new mechanical limb: “It’s really fun and it’s cool. I like to play with the hand and make it open and close.”
His mother Ashley Marotta, 38, approached Open Bionics – which makes the prosthetic – when Jordan started questioning why his hand had not ‘grown back’.
And while she was told he was likely too young to receive one of their products, they let Jordan try out an arm to see if he could use it.
Following this successful trial, they later agreed to fit him with the Hero Arm at their offices in New York City, two years earlier than most youngsters.
Ashley, from Long Island, said: “As soon as we left with Jordan’s Hero Arm, he was running around with so much confidence trying to hail New York taxis.
“The confidence – you can’t even put a number on how amazing that is. It is worth its weight in gold.
“And the first thing he wanted to do when he got home was ride his scooter. He was so excited to finally hold on with two hands.
“It’s crazy. It’s definitely been a whirlwind. It’s not anything I expected.”
Mom-of-three boys Ashley, a psychologist, said she had found out that Jordan was missing his left hand during a 20-week pregnancy scan in hospital.
And she said there was no specific medical reason that doctors could point to for why the lad did not have the limb.
Ashley admitted initially feeling upset at his prognosis but took comfort from learning about other children who had thrived in similar situations.
She said: “Being completely honest, I was shocked and sad. There’s a mourning period I think you go through.
“No child is ‘perfect’. But you hear the expression all the time, ‘ten fingers and ten toes’ and you don’t really know what that means until you have to.
“But luckily, I was able to do some research and reach out and find a lot of really good resources, and I think that helped prepare me for his arrival and what to expect.
“I had seen a lot of videos of other kids like him and other adults like him, and there was a sense of relief that the journey might not be easy, but he’ll be ok.”
Ashley said as Jordan became more aware of his limb difference, she got in touch with UK-based Open Bionics to see if he could get their Hero Arm.
She said: “He’s started to ask questions like, ‘Mummy, how come I don’t have two hands?’ or ‘When is my hand going to grow?’
“So I reached out to them and asked to have an initial conversation. I was told he probably would be put on a waitlist for two or three years because he is young.
“But because we’re in New York, and they have a satellite office, I was like ‘What’s the worst that can happen? Can we meet with the prosthetist and give it a try?’
“They had confidence and faith in us. And it worked out. Also, Jordan is on the bigger side for his age. So I really sold them on his muscles.”
Ashley said she was lucky that her health insurance covered the cost of the arm, and said Jordan was already managing to use it in his day-to-day life.
She added: “I sent a video of him to the prosthetist that fit him, and they said, ‘I can’t believe how quickly he’s picking it up’”
