A “Lego-mad” eight-year-old boy, Tobi Sheldon, is determined not to be defined by the term “disability” and has had a bespoke Lego-themed prosthetic arm fitted.
Born with a rare hand condition reported by the Times, he has led his life with one functional arm. Now he has a custom-designed prosthetic. Tobi was born with a rare hand condition but has never let it slow him down. He was born with symbrachydactyly, a rare congenital hand condition, and he has never known anything different to leading his life with one functional arm.
However, a constant in Tobi’s life since the age of six months has been visiting the Portsmouth Enablement Centre, which specialises in creating prosthetics. Tobi’s arm was designed by staff at the centre.
Until recently, Tobi’s prosthetic arm had never been suitable for practical purposes. But he now has an arm with improved functionality – equipped with its very own Lego pieces.
“Tobi is Lego mad at the moment and is obsessed with Ninjago and Minecraft Lego. Whenever Tobi gets his pocket money, he saves up for Lego”
When Debra Sheldon, Tobi’s mother, took her son to the Portsmouth centre last April to select a new arm she was never in doubt about the design that would take his fancy.
Debra said: “Tobi is Lego mad at the moment and is obsessed with Ninjago and Minecraft Lego. Whenever Tobi gets his pocket money, he saves up for Lego. So as soon as the prosthetic Lego design caught his eye, he didn’t look any further.”
The specialist team at the Portsmouth centre, which worked with Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, assured Sheldon it would always endeavour to come up with alterations to a prosthetic arm that would him to pursue his hobbies.
Lucy Riddle, the prosthetics clinical manager, said: “Our technicians enjoy being creative, whether it’s crafting limbs with superhero designs or incorporating family photos, and the biggest reward is seeing the difference it makes to someone’s life.”
Tobi’s Mum said that when attending school in Salisbury, Tobi had never shied away from explaining to his classmates why he required a prosthetic. She added: “He has never let his arms stop him from doing anything and his classmates have been really supportive.”
She and her husband believe it is best to bring up their son with the attitude: “that he has to learn to make the most of the life he is going to lead”.
Tobi has fully embraced this outlook and has always made a point of correcting those who use the term “disabled” to describe his condition.
