Hands up for bionic teacher back in class
A PRIMARY school teacher who lost her arms and legs to sepsis has returned to the classroom after her school raised funds to buy her bionic limbs.
Kath Tregenna, from London, was admitted to hospital two years ago after contracting sepsis. She had thought she had a common fever.
However, the infection was so severe that she suffered between seven and 11 cardiac arrests and her family were told by medical staff to say their goodbyes.
Doctors had to perform a quadruple amputation on her legs below the knee and arms below the elbow to prevent the infection spreading further.
The 47-year-old, originally from Cornwall, said the thought of returning to teaching kept her going through her recovery – but the prosthetic arm hooks she was given to the limbs she lost were too heavy and uncomfortable to wear when teaching.
She said: “As
I was going through my recovery, I really knew in my heart that I wanted to get back into the classroom and get back to teaching.
“I always had this dream of being able to go back to teaching and I just knew I could not do that with these heavy hooks.”
However, her school rallied to support her and raised enough money to pay for Hero Arms, made by British company Open Bionics, which use myoelectric sensors to detect muscle movements and translate them into hand movements. They were customised to her preferred design and shape.
Ms Tregenna said: “It’s all thanks to the arms I am able to teach again.
“From writing on the school board to carrying books, children are obsessed
‘Children are obsessed with the arms and ask me how they work’
with the arms and always ask me to show how they work. “Going out wearing the arms actually makes me feel very, very confident. “They enable me to carry out a range of classroom activities, which I wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.” She said her school is a “wonderful place to work” and her colleagues feel “just like family”. Samantha Payne MBE, a cofounder of Open Bionics, said: “Kath is incredible. “Our entire team is in awe of Kath’s determination to get back to doing what she loves most – teaching. “Seeing her using her Hero Arms … really puts into perspective how important bionic technology can be.”