Rosie was born with a left arm and right leg limb difference and being very independent, tells us she will always “take the way that’s longer and harder if I get to do it on my own”.
Meet Rosie, age 14, who lives with her mom, dad and two younger sisters in North Carolina, USA.
With a passion for cooking, a love for books and sketching, and also being a seasoned sled hockey player, we caught up with Rosie and her mom Jessica, to find out more about her experiences using her Koalaa ALX!
Rosie’s Limb Difference
Jessica: We first found out about Rosie’s limb differences at our 20-week scan but the only thing that mattered to us was that she was happy and healthy.
While we were a bit worried in the beginning about how she would manage, we quickly realised she’d be just fine, and we’ve loved watching her work out her own way of doing things.
We started going to Camp No Limits when she was three and it has been fantastic to meet with other families and children with limb differences.
That’s also where we first heard about Koalaa and met Amy and Esmé from the Koalaa team, who attended a camp for a ‘show and tell’ session.
Experience with Prosthetics
Jessica: Rosie has used a regular prosthetic since she was around two years old, but it was heavy and hard to get on and off. She also didn’t like that it was so long in length, so it ended up being an expensive paperweight (as it was never used)!
We wanted Rosie to have the option of using prosthetics to know what it was like and whether using one might help her with anything she found more challenging. But after her experiences with the regular prosthetics, we thought she probably wouldn’t be interested in trying anything else.
We certainly didn’t expect to go to camp and come home with a new prosthetic arm for her, which Koalaa fitted for her there and then!
Using her Koalaa sleeve
Rosie: With Koalaa, a lot of the elements I hated about my other prosthetics are gone.
It’s so comfortable I sometimes just keep it on. There is also a bowl in the kitchen where I put my sleeve, so I can just grab it when I need it for something.
I love cooking and we have made some custom tools, so they’re ready to go, such as a fork and a mixing spoon that I can switch in and out when I need them.
Something I use my sleeve for is holding the bowl while I stir, or when I’m scraping things out of pans. I’ve never been able to do that before.
We take turns to do the dishes and cook dinner with mom and my Koalaa has made it all much easier and quicker. I can just grab it and get on with things.
Best thing about the Koalaa prosthetic
Rosie: I love my Koalaa, it’s really fun. It’s not as bulky as my other prosthetics and is really light and can help me in the kitchen.
I like that I can carry it with me and have it there when I need it - I couldn’t do that with my other prosthetics as they were so heavy.
I think Koalaa is very different from other prosthetics. It’s much easier to put on and off and isn’t too long, so doesn’t take away from the use of my little arm. It also helps me with my baking – which I love to do! And it’s helping me when I exercise too (I just did some yoga and a plank!).
I’m looking forward to trying out even more things during the summer.
Thank you Rosie for taking time to share your story with us!