We’d love to see our eight-year-old daughter ride her bike with the help of a bionic arm

Imogen Watson, from Whitburn, was born with part of her left hand missing but she hasn’t let that stop her from having a ‘can do’ attitude when it comes to tackling whatever life throws at her.

Doctors discovered during a 20-week scan that Imogen would be born with part of her hand missing, leading to her family being concerned about how she would be able to do various activities.

Earlier this year, Imogen and her family took part in an adventure day held by The LimbBo Foundation - a charity that helps children and families with limb differences.

At the event, they met the Open Bionics Foundation who selected Imogen, along with two other children, to receive funding for a bionic ‘Hero Arm’, which when worn, acts like a normal hand.

Steven Watson, Imogen’s dad, has explained that the eight-year-old is very confident and independent but there are certain things that she struggles with.

He commented: “We didn’t know how it would actually affect Imogen until she was born but she has managed really well as she has learnt how to do everything with just one hand.

“Imogen is quite independent and we’ve never really had to worry about it but there are things like playing tennis or cricket in PE at school or riding her bike which she can’t really take part in.

“There is very little support available to be able to do anything about this so she has basically just had to learn to get on with it.

“The Hero Arm basically acts like a normal hand but they are obviously very expensive and you don’t really get the chance to get them on the NHS unless she was a bit older.

“Between the three families, we are trying to raise just over £20,000 and once we hit that target, the three kids will all get a Hero Arm.”

At the time of writing, more than £7,300 has been raised and Steven has revealed how much of a difference the Hero Arm will make to Imogen’s life.

He added: “It will give her more confidence to do different things like PE, play with her friends and do activities that requires you to have two hands.

“She basically would love to be able to ride her bike properly - she can do it now but she is really nervous because of balance.

“It will make a huge difference to her.

“It would be an amazing thing for us to see that happen, we’d love for her to be able to do things that normal children can do.

“The fundraising process has been hard but it is picking up - we’ve been sharing it on social media and hosting different fundraising events to try and get as much money as possible.

“We’re making good progress and the more people are aware of this, the better it will be.”

You can view and donate to the fundraiser by visiting: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-big-hero-3-2025.