Technology gives Perth girl a new hand

By Emily Johnston A 10-year-old Perth girl will soon be the first person in Western Australia to receive a ‘Living Skin’ prosthetic hand. Chenille Johnston, of Rockingham, was born without her left hand – a fate her mother Rhonda Johnston said no one, including doctors, can explain why. “The paediatrician said that if they had kept the placenta then they would have been able to figure out what went wrong,” said Rhonda. “The paediatrician said that if they had kept the placenta then they would have been able to figure out what went wrong,” said Rhonda. “My first thought was that Chenille would never be able to wear a wedding ring. Just small things like that I knew would make Chenille feel different,” said Rhonda. Chenille has waited nearly all her 10 years for a prosthetic hand, due to the changing nature of children’s bones and the lack of good options. “When Chenille was five we took her to a hand surgeon who wanted to take bones from her toes to attach to her left hand. The procedure had no guarantee of working, so we did not want to put her through that,” said Rhonda. “As she has gotten older the kids at her school have started to notice her hand more and she has been bullied quite a bit for being different,” said Rhonda. “The kids at school pass me in the hallway and stare at me, and a few kids come up and ask me what is wrong with my hand,” said Chenille. After recent instances of bullying, Rhonda decided to look into prosthetic hands, to find out what might be available in Perth. “I emailed some companies over in the east coast which led me to TLC Unlimbited  in Belmont, which has organised everything for Chenille, including funding for prosthetics for the rest of her life,” said Rhonda.  “Once I get the hand I am going to scream and be so happy, people won’t look at me strange anymore,” said Chenille. Contact TLC Unlimbited for more information about state-of-the-art prosthetics. You can meet Chenille in the video below.