"I want my arm cut off" says desperate mother (From Croydon Guardian)

Purley mum Nicky Wilding campaigns to be first woman in Europe with bionic arm

3:30pm Wednesday 12th September 2012 in News

A trainee accountant is aiming to become the first woman in Europe to have a bionic arm fitted.

Nicky Wilding, 35, from Purley, lost the use of her right arm in a car crash 13 years ago.

The accident left her arm totally paralysed and she has since struggled with everyday tasks such as dressing herself, cooking and showering.

She now wants her right arm cut off and replaced with a bionic arm. The mother-of-one, who lives in Purley, is determined to raise £40,000 for the robotic arm she hopes will get her life back.

She said: “There are not many women who want their arm cut off but it is what I want. I want it so badly.”

If she is able to raise the money and the procedure is regarded as suitable for her, Miss Wilding will have the operation in Vienna and become the second woman in the world to have a bionic arm.

A bionic arm combines robotics, biotechnology, and electronics to recreate the functions of a human arm and can greatly improve the lives of people with lost limbs.

The first woman in the world to get a bionic arm was former US Marine Claudia Mitchell in 2006.

Miss Wilding said: “There are always risks, but I do not have anything to lose. It will improve my life.

“I would do anything to open a bottle again or tie my shoe laces. Colleagues at Tui UK threw a fundraiser at the Queen’s Head pub in Richmond Road, Kingston, on Saturday, September 8 to raise funds.

Miss Wilding said: “I am really blessed people want to help. It just goes to show who is there. I have even had strangers donating.”

Miss Wilding who has raised £8,000 to date, will take part in her second triathlon at Dorney Lake on Saturday September 15, to raise more.