Health
'Best Christmas gift' ever as kids with missing limbs receive bionic arms: 'Amazing'
Three children are feeling pure joy this December about “the best Christmas present in the world.”
Ettie Baker, age 8, Zoey Hampton-Pigeon, age 8, and Finn Jarvis, age 11, were all given “life-changing” bionic arms this week courtesy of The Big Hero 3 campaign.
Launched by a mom named Sarah Lockey whose own daughter faced physical challenges, the campaign helps families of children with missing limbs fundraise for bionic arms, news agency SWNS reported.
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Ettie Baker’s mother, Alyse, said her daughter “screamed” when she found out about her new arm for Christmas this year.
“Ettie has always shown so much love for her difference and loves celebrating differences,” said mom Alyse Baker about her daughter.
Ettie Baker, left, is shown with her new Hero Arm from Open Bionics. (SWNS)
But as the child gets older, “she is becoming increasingly aware of just how different she is,” said the mom.
“She’s becoming more conscious of the stares when [she’s] out [among people] and is sometimes frustrated that she can’t do things the same [way] as everyone else, so having the opportunity to receive a Hero Arm is life-changing for Ettie in so many ways.”
The Hero Arm is for people living with a below-elbow limb difference.
The mom said her daughter is thrilled she’ll be able to ride a bike, tie her shoes, even do handstands.
“As parents, we are excited about these things, too, but also all the other ways the Hero Arm will change Ettie’s life.”
Ettie Baker, Finn Jarvis and Zoey Pidgeon-Hampton, left to right, with their new bionic arms received for Christmas this year. (SWNS)
Added the mom, “We are absolutely over the moon to be working together” with other families and their children.
The Open Bionics Foundation — which provides financial support to people who need multi-grip upper limb prosthetics — as well as The Worshipful Company of The Glovers, Foresight Group and an anonymous donor have all contributed over $50,000 toward the children’s new bionic arms, SWNS reported.
It’s considered “the world’s most affordable advanced multi-grip prosthetic arm.”
The Hero Arm is for people living with a below-elbow limb difference, the Open Bionics Foundation indicates on its website.
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The device is considered “the world’s most affordable advanced multi-grip prosthetic arm, with multi-grip functionality and empowering esthetics,” the foundation also notes.
“Engineered and manufactured in Britain, the Hero Arm is a custom lightweight and affordable myoelectric prosthesis, now available in over 801 locations across the U.S. for below-elbow amputee adults and children aged 8 and above.”
A father described the opportunity for his daughter to receive the bionic arm as “amazing.” (SWNS)
A big chunk of the money raised so far came about because the three families worked together on it.
Thomas, the father of Zoey Hampton-Pigeon, age 8, said his daughter was so excited when she heard the news about her new arm that she was “jumping up and down squealing.”
He described the opportunity for her as “amazing.”
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The family found out their daughter would be born with a limb difference at her 20-week scan.
Said the dad, “It was a very scary and emotional time not knowing what to expect … When Zoey was born, she saw several specialists, but there are no answers about why this happened … It’s just one of those things.”
“I want to support others who are going through the same thing.”
He described his daughter today as a “very happy, caring, confident and adventurous little girl.”
She is “always on the go,” he said. She’s a member of a gymnastics club, takes swimming lessons and loves trampolining, he noted.
With her new arm, she’s looking forward to being able to use a jump rope, her dad said.
Zoey Pidgeon-Hampton, age 8, is shown receiving her new bionic arm. (SWNS)
He also said that she “does struggle with everyday tasks such as tying her laces, using a knife and fork,” and more — and that the new bionic arm “will make such a massive difference to her independence.”
Mom Sarah Lockey was originally inspired to set up the campaign, now in its fourth run, after her daughter lost her hand to meningitis at just 15 months old.
“It turned my world around,” she told SWNS, “and I promised one day I would get Tilly her hand back. She now wears two hero arms daily – so I want to support others who are going through the same thing.”
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Lockey said the campaign helps remove some of the stress of crowdfunding for families.
“It is just incredible for three children to benefit and for their families all to meet and fundraise together,” she said.
With this opportunity, “the possibilities for him to excel are endless,” said the dad of young Finn Jarvis, age 11, shown above. (SWNS)
Finn Jarvis, the third child who is receiving a bionic arm, has been described by his loved ones as “the boss of the family.”
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He was born without one hand, the result apparently of a car accident his mother was involved in before his birth.
Dad Ben Jarvis said, “Finn is a happy-go-lucky boy. He is kind, fearless and extremely switched on. He is now 11 … With this opportunity of a Big Hero Arm, the possibilities for him to excel are endless,” as SWNS reported.
Lockey also said the campaign “is her ‘favorite thing’ to do — and it has been a delight for the children to meet and receive such a life-changing opportunity.”
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A distraught mother who thought she was having a heart attack was instead hospitalized with broken heart syndrome — otherwise known as takotsubo syndrome (TTS) — less than a year after her veteran son tragically took his own life.
Dawn Turner, 57, of the U.K., lost her son in August of last year.
Just last month, the mom of three awoke with “unbearable” chest pains, she said — and called an ambulance, worried she was going into cardiac arrest. But when she arrived at the hospital, doctors told her she was suffering from the effects of grief caused by a broken heart, as news agency SWNS reported.
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TTS is a temporary, reversible heart condition often triggered by extreme emotional or physical stress, such as grief, fear or severe illness, according to experts.
Symptoms usually mimic a heart attack, with sudden and severe chest pain and shortness of breath the most common — and it primarily affects women over the age of 50.
A mom whose soldier son took his own life feared she was suffering cardiac arrest — only to be told by hospital doctors that she was feeling the effects of grief caused by a broken heart. Dawn Turner, mother of deceased soldier Rob Homans, is pictured above, April 2026. (SWNS)
Turner, of Eckington in Worcester, said, “I was [sitting] downstairs earlier that night and thought I had a bit of indigestion. I went to bed and just couldn’t get comfortable — I was breaking out in a sweat and had heart palpitations.
“Then, around midnight, I had pain down my arm and in my jaw. I was still putting it down to indigestion… My partner Paul asked me if I was all right, and I said, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack.’”
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She said she couldn’t catch her breath — “and my heart felt as though it was missing a beat and then [started] thudding again. For those moments, I truly believed I was having a heart attack.”
“Your heart is all over the place — there’s an extra beat,” Turner was told.
She said her partner called emergency services, and an ambulance arrived within five minutes.
“They came in and linked me up to an ECG. They said, ‘Your heart is all over the place — there’s an extra beat, and it’s all over the place,’” she said, as SWNS reported.
Turner was rushed to the hospital by ambulance.
Turner is shown with her son in full dress uniform. He worked as an artilleryman and spent 10 years in the U.K.’s Royal Horse Artillery after joining in 2006. He was battling mental health challenges after his military service, and ultimately took his own life. (SWNS)
In emergency care, Turner was also given blood tests.
She added, “They came back and said I didn’t have the enzymes produced from a heart attack in my blood. But they said there [was] something going on.”
After undergoing more tests and seeing a cardiologist, Turner was told she had takotsubo syndrome.
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“I told [the doctor] that my heart feels broken. I told her about [my son] Rob, and she said it’s exactly that. She said it’s a real thing, and that I’d been under so much stress. The body can only take so much, and the grief and the stress can be quite physical.”
Turner’s son committed suicide in August 2025 after struggling to get help with his mental health.
He spent 10 years in the Royal Horse Artillery after joining in 2006, when he worked as an artilleryman.
Turner’s son did two tours of duty in Afghanistan, she said. After he returned to civilian life, he began suffering from a number of health conditions. She’s shown above with a flower-draped memorial to her son. (SWNS)
He did two tours of duty in Afghanistan, she said, and returned to civilian life in 2016 before suffering several worsening health conditions.
Turner, who is also the CEO of a veterans charity called Stepway, “When he left the army, he got married, and they settled down in London. He walked straight into a job as a delivery driver. But then his health took a downward spiral, and he started having digestive troubles.”
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He was eventually told he had PTSD — but those symptoms may be similar to those of mild traumatic brain injury, Turner said.
“He was deaf in one ear from using the guns,” she said. “He realized he was putting so much pressure on his marriage, so he moved back up with me. He started to build himself up — then COVID hit.”
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Turner said there were unfortunate delays as her son tried to get access to various services and facilities.
“When people lose loved ones, you’re obviously distraught, but you eventually find closure,” she said, per SWNS. “I found peace when I lost my sister in 2015. But with Rob, I can’t find closure because there’s no justice there.”
“I had never really understood that a person could become so overwhelmed by stress and grief that it physically affects the heart,” said the grieving mom. “Broken heart syndrome can look and feel like a heart attack.” (iStock)
Turner is now on the mend and hopes to be fully recovered in a couple of weeks, SWNS reported.
“Until that moment, I had never really understood that a person could become so overwhelmed by stress and grief that it physically affects the heart,” she shared. “Broken heart syndrome can look and feel like a heart attack. It was a warning sign for me, and for anyone. It can change the shape of one of your heart chambers … it can cause some serious damage.”
She added, “The cardiologist told me that thankfully, my heart itself is healthy and there was no damage, but that it will take around two weeks to a month for my heart to reboot itself.”
“Maybe the extra [heart]beat is for Rob. You are carrying on living for him,” her partner told her.
Turner was told she needed to rest, seek counseling and make lifestyle changes to reduce stress.
“Things have settled down, and I’m taking things easy — I’m pacing myself now, and I feel a lot better. Paul said, ‘Maybe the extra beat is for Rob. You are carrying on living for him.’”
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Turner said, “That broke me and healed me a little bit all at once.”
Fox News Digital previously reported that broken heart syndrome, which causes the heart to temporarily weaken, has been linked to the brain’s reaction to stress, as studies have found.
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In an article published in the European Heart Journal in March 2019, Swiss researchers said they found that the syndrome is linked to the way the brain communicates with the heart.
Broken heart syndrome, which causes the heart to temporarily weaken, has been linked to the brain’s reaction to stress, studies have found. (iStock)
Caused by intense emotional events, TTS is a rare, temporary condition that weakens the left ventricle and disrupts its normal pumping function.
The syndrome causes the heart’s main pumping chamber to change shape and get larger. The heart muscle becomes weaker, and its pumping action loses strength.
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Symptoms include sudden, intense chest pain, pressure or heaviness in the chest, along with shortness of breath.
It is treated with beta blockers and blood-thinning medicine to reduce risks of clots and other flareups.
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Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
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After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
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This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
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Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
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By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
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Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
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