County Durham meningitis survivor Tilly Lockey got the full megastar treatment when she was invited to the premiere of one of Hollywood’s latest blockbusters in London’s Leicester Square.
Standing with Rosa Salazar, the star of Alita: Battle Angel, Tilly proudly showed off her brand-new bionic hands made by Open Bionics and paid for by the film studio behind Alita, Twentieth Century Fox.
Tilly’s hands were amputated after she contracted meningitis B at just 15 months old. Now aged 13, Tilly, from County Durham, has been supported by national charity Meningitis Now – where mum Sarah now works as a community fundraiser.
According to Sarah, Tilly was surprised with the gift of the new hands just the night before the premiere while they were staying at the Dorchester Hotel in central London. She was in one room and the film crew were waiting secretly next door,” Sarah said.
“She had come down to London thinking she was just coming for a photoshoot – so it was a complete surprise when the film crew came in and presented her with her new arms, telling her she was a real-life Alita.
“She was completely gobsmacked”.
Directed by Robert Rodriguez, Alita: Battle Angel is described as a “cyberpunk action film” set in a future where cyborgs are given bionic limbs. Open Bionics, the company which works with Tilly to help develop bionic hands for kids, collaborated with Fox on the movie. Thanks to this partnership they were asked to nominate someone to receive a free pair of “Alita hands” and immediately thought of Tilly.
The icing on the cake was that not only did Tilly get a new pair of hands, she also got to be a star for an evening at the premiere of the movie.
Sarah hopes that others seeing Tilly standing on the blue carpet outside the premiere of a huge movie like Alita will be an inspiration to others of her age.
But as well as that, the experience must have been very exciting to Tilly – even though she looked like she was taking it all in her stride.