Bionic hand gives Leighton Buzzard's Kye a new lease of life

A boy who lost both hands and legs to a deadly meningitis infection nearly three years ago was blessed with a bionic hand '“ just in time for Christmas!
Kye with his new handKye with his new hand
Kye with his new hand

Kye Vincent, 10, was thrilled to receive the new hand on December 20, courtesy of UK company Open Bionics.

And he was able to share his bionic hand with the nation when he appeared on Good Morning Britain the following week.

Mum Cheryl Vincent told the LBO: “I could have burst with pride watching him, he was so happy.

“There’s a lot of mechanisms for him to learn and so it’s going to take him a while to get used to it. At the moment, he’s not comfortable with an audience while he’s working out how to use it.

“Watching him open his presents on Christmas Day was wonderful.”

Over the past year, family, friends and members of the community have thrown themselves into fundraising – helping to secure the £11,000 needed for the new bionic hand.

Kye – who was chosen to turn on Leighton Buzzard’s Christmas lights in November by LBO readers – was just eight when he developed meningococcal septicaemia, despite having already been vaccinated against meningitis.

He underwent multiple amputations in St Mary’s Hospital in London on April 14, 2016, and his story quickly made national headlines.

Since then, he has been given admirable support as a pupil at Gilbert Inglefield Academy and continues to make startling progress.

He told the Daily Star Sunday: “I was a bit nervous before I got it, but I can use a knife now and I used it to open my presents on Christmas Day.”