15-year-old teen has the sweetest reaction to receiving her first bionic arm

As 2023 comes to an end, we are witnessing the biggest disadvantage that technology has: being able to take away lives. It really makes us wonder whether all that work of research is even worth it if ultimately it is causing immense sadness and grief. However, the other side of the coin of technological advancements is that it can be one of the best things to happen to the world in terms of making lives better, especially for the younger generation. In a recent TikTok video posted by Open Bionics (@openbionics), technology has been shown at its best, i.e., giving a bionic arm to a 15-year-old girl, Grace, whose many hopes can now find themselves coming true.

Captioned “Non-stop smiles, we’re so happy for Grace!" the video shows the teenage amputee receiving her beautiful, purple-colored bionic arm, unwrapping it, holding it in her hand to feel the reality of it and smiling ear-to-ear in excitement to try it out. As her aide helps her out in fitting the bionic arm on her left hand, Grace can be seen taking in the moment by observing carefully how it goes on. Once it is correctly fitted, Grace can't wait to try out different movements with her new, purple arm that makes her look nothing less than a superheroine. With a wide smile on her face, she begins by trying out the movement of her fingers and looks at the camera to get a shot making a peace sign with both her hands then.

As she continues to laugh her heart out, she then tries to pick up objects using her bionic arm and is successfully able to do that with a huge smile on her face. She then tries to hold a fork with her left bionic arm and a knife in her right hand, to practice slicing up food. After achieving the second milestone, she then goes on to practice the rotation of her hand while holding a pouch and unzipping it, something she’d probably be required to do a lot in school. She also checks the functionality of the bionic arm in grabbing smaller objects and voila! She’s overly thrilled to have successfully done that as well.

Finally, she is asked to lift a small, black case as an imitation of a bag or a suitcase and no surprises there, Grace’s bionic arm embraces its strength and lifts up, not only the case but also Grace’s spirits. She finally sits back and gives a thumbs up to convey that she’s feeling great and rightly so because her overjoyed face gives it all away. The comment section chimed in to give Grace a boost. @william.carter54 said, "Never give up; keep trying." Grace’s bionic arm is provided by Open Bionics, which is a UK-based company that deals with developing 3D-printed bionic arms. Its goal is to be able to “grab, pinch, high-five, fist bump and thumbs-up.” Such efforts on the part of organizations to use technology and fight the physical and mental challenges that humans face in their daily lives do make one feel grateful for it.