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Meet the ambassador to the future
Tilly Lockey, 14, lost her hands as a toddler, but sees it as a massive opportunity to embrace technology. She chatted with ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK about the human of tomorrow.
Tilly is deeply inspired by the movie Alita: Battle Angel, which combines live actors with a computer-generated cyborg heroine. Alita is continually augmented as she learns her powers, but it is her sheer determination that wins the day.
“The movie was advertised on my school bus and whenever I saw it, I said, aha, there’s me, even before I knew I was getting Hero Arms. She is such an amazing character, very strong-minded.
“I’m always proving to myself I’m a very determined person. I have been ever since I was 3 or 4. I remember being in a room with my mam, and I thought because I had no hands, I couldn’t open the door myself. I asked my mam, and she told me no, I could do it by myself, all I have to do is try. So I opened door, and she says she could never forget the look on my face. I realised I could sit back, or take charge and do things for myself.
“I am still now proving all the doctors wrong. They first said I won’t live, never mind walk. Then they said I would not walk, I’d be paralysed. Then they said I’d never play piano. So I got a piano and started doing piano lessons. It doesn’t matter if you got disabled, you can still do it, as long as you know what you want to do and have got the mindset, the determination, you can do it.”
Read more in the second article of the series about how Tilly became a hero.
- Arthur Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram on @art2gee
- Follow Tilly Lockey on Social Media at: Twitter (@GiveTillyaHand), Instagram (@tilly.lockey), and YouTube.
