A YOUNG Dudley dad is in a race against time to raise £5,000 and change his life forever – with a bionic arm.

Andrew Saxton is sure that the new state-of-the-art prosthetic Hero Arm can help to improve his health, provide better career chances, get his family out of debt and give him back much needed confidence.

The arm costs £10,000 and he has been promised half that amount, if he can crowdfund the rest.

He and partner Heather Hickman have until the end of March to raise the money, otherwise his dreams are shattered.

Andrew, 323, was born with a congenital condition which meant his left forearm was missing. It came as a complete shock to his parents, who had been told after a scan that they could not see his forearm because it was ‘tucked behind his back.’

Not having part of an arm means nothing to a baby and young child, but as Andrew grew so did the bullying that knocked his confidence in school and college, and so did years of changing one heavy, hard to use prosthetic arm for another.

In the end he often didn’t bother.

The lack of his left forearm clearly means there are lots of tasks he cannot do or finds very hard – like carrying heavy objects, putting the bins out, making a bed, or fiddly jobs, like putting a key on a keyring.

But there are long-term results. Carrying a heavy false arm has made his should drop and given him back muscle problems. When he doesn’t wear one, he holds his arm into his body to ‘hide it’, again causing muscle weakness.

And his lack of confidence meant he did not do well in school, which has had an impact on finding work.

Both he and Heather, from Woodsetton, who have a son, Jack, aged 13, and daughter Charlotte, 8, from previous relationships have found themselves in debt.

But now Andrew has applied for a lightweight, multi-grip Hero Arm from Bristol-based Open Bionics. They applied to their Foundation Trust who have offered to find 50%.

Andrew said: “I’ve had lots of time off due to pain in my back caused by my lack of muscle in my left arm. I’ve lost muscle mass and my shoulder drops. This in turn causes problems with my spine.

“I honestly think a Hero Arm will help me straighten up and prevent more problems later in life.

“This really will change my life for the better, starting with my confidence.”

Lac of confidence was a key reason why he gave up on his passion as a young student – becoming a mechanic.

A Hero Arm could turn things around for him in so many ways.

Andrew's fundraising page can be seen at:https://gofundme.com/f/andrews-hero-arm-help

His fundraising page is at: