The family of a 9-year-old who was born without a left hand raised the $24,000 needed for a new prosthetic arm, after the cost was denied by their insurance company—but now the girl is paying it forward to another child, after a Good Samaritan stepped in to cover the full cost of hers.
Remi Bateman, who outgrew her conventional prosthetic, got the chance to try out a robotic ‘Hero Arm’ made by Open Bionics—and she loved it.
But the family in Utah was left devastated when insurer Select Health deemed the prosthetic “not medically necessary”, which was surprising, since they’d approved three prosthetics before in her lifetime. Even after two different appeals, the company said the high-tech device was for “cosmetic use only”, which left Remi in tears.
So the family launched a GoFundMe campaign and was able to quickly raise the $24,000 to buy the Hero Arm outright—but then a company called CrowdHealth stepped in to pay for her arm in full.
Andy Schoonover, the CEO of the insurance alternative that helps people negotiate lower costs for medical bills, was looking for a way to give back over the holidays. He called the family on Dec. 16 after seeing the story about their fundraiser on social media.
He encouraged Remi to use the GoFundMe donations however she wished, and the little girl knew immediately what she wanted to do—she wanted to help another child buy a Hero Arm.
The Batemans found the fundraising page for Taj Johnson Jr. from Virginia, also born without a left arm, who was raising money for a bionic limb.
She gave the 9-year-old the money so now both kids will get to do what their peers can do, like tying a shoe or hanging on the monkey bars on a playground—thanks to the device controlled via sensors atop their forearm muscles.
“I’m so excited to get my Hero Arm, I could jump to the moon,” said Remi, who ordered her multi-grip bionic hand in the color pink.
“Being able to help Taj means a lot to me.”
Taj’s mom was shocked and ecstatic.
“We are just so grateful to Remi and her family,” said Kaitlin Skinner, who had only managed to raise $1,500 on their GoFundMe page. “This is a blessing.”
Remi’s mom, Jami, especially enjoyed telling Taj’s family. “They were so surprised and grateful to receive the help.
“Remi absolutely needs this device to aid her in two-handed tasks and activities. It is going to support her spinal and shoulder health as she grows too.”
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“We are thrilled that CrowdHealth stepped forward to pay for Remi’s arm, enabling us to use the donations to help another limb-different family in need.”
Remi’s quality of life is about to change for the better, as Open Bionics, based in the UK, says they should be ready to fit her pink arm in January.
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The family, having tasted the sweetness of philanthropy, decided to keep their GoFundMe page open to collect more funds, working towards the goal to help another child named Faith to get a Hero Arm.
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Thank you so much for this story! Not only is it a wonderful “hope for future generations of kindness” story, you offered a link to CrowdHealth which is just fabulous! #GRATITUDE