Teenager gets bionic hands after surviving deadly illness

Most of us probably take for granted things like putting on make up or giving a thumbs up, but for 13-year-old Tilly, that's been a life's journey.

"I lost my hands to meningitis septicaemia string b when i was 15-months-old. I was rushed to the hospital and basically they said that I was 100% going to die and if I did manage to live I wouldn't be able to walk run or do anything."

But Tilly did survive the illness, at the cost of both of her arms.

"There weren't many prosthetics for kids when i was little because they couldn't manage to get the technology into such a small sized hand", she says.

But since 2016 she's been working with Technology company Openbionics to test a number of prosthetics, working on making smaller bionics for children.

Finally getting these futuristic, 'comic book' inspired arms, complete with sensors that respond to Tilly's movements, allow her to do things like put on make up and grab objects in much the same way one would with biological arms.

And throughout her incredible journey she's met the Dalai Lama and was even able to attend the premiere of Alita: Battle Angel in London, sporting a custom arm to mirror the film's protagonist.