A HELPING HAND FOR BRAVE DANCER GILL
FUNDRAISING BALLET TEEN’S DREAM Campaign to buy bionic aid
A TEENAGE dancer is trying to raise thousands of pounds for a bionic hand after being born without fingers on one hand.
Gillyan Cullen, 18, is a keen Highland and ballet dancer – and hopes a bionic hand will help her with her hobby and cope better with everyday life.
She is currently studying English, creative writing and journalism at Strathclyde University and while she has coped admirably with her disability, to live independently, she needs the extra help a bionic hand would provide.
Gillyan has Symbrachydactyly, a rare congenital abnormality which means some bones may be missing.
Gillyan, from Cumbernauld, has no fingers on her left hand but her disability has not held her back and she has always enjoyed an active life – competing in Highland Dance since taking up the hobby at four years old.
She also enjoys ballet and contemporary dance.
She lives at home and commutes to university but she admitted: “I do rely on my mum more than I should, particularly when it comes to making dinner and making my bed.
“While I am at university, it is easily commutable from home but when I leave and get a job, I want to be able to move out without having to worry if I can do things.
“It is things people take for granted I struggle with, like cutting my dinner or drying my hair. I want to do things other people do without thinking. I can do things, it is just a bit more difficult and takes me far longer.” Gillyan has already tried out a bionic hand at Touch Bionics in Livingston. She said: “They put a sensor on my arm and I was able to control the hand by moving the muscle in my arm. “Lots of people struggle if they haven’t used the muscle but because I still try to use what I have my muscles are quite well developed.” Gillyan started fundraising in March and has already raised £13,000 of the £31,000 she needs, thanks in part to the efforts of her mum Lynn and older sister Allyson, 22. Allyson, who teaches English in a Spanish school, has translated Gillyan’s Just Giving Page into Spanish and has encouraged friends to donate. Gillyan said: “I only started a few months ago because I hadn’t heard about the company before then. When I looked into prosthetics previously, I was told because I had a partial hand, I would probably have to have an amputation to my wrist to get one that worked. But this new robotic hand has only been available for 18 months and I don’t need an amputation to use it. “It is not about just one thing I can’t do, it is for making my life easier. At the moment I have to pre-plan a lot of things to cope with different situations.” ● To donate go to www.justgiving. com/crowdfunding/gillyancullen