Girl Becomes Youngest Ever To Receive Prosthetics With Computerized Knees

Prosthetics with computerized knees are helping an 8-year-old amputee do everyday things that at one point may have seemed impossible. And Harmonie-Rose Allen is the youngest person in the world to receive them.

The Bath, England, native contracted meningitis as a baby. Sepsis from the infection ravaged her body, forcing doctors to amputate the lower parts of her arms and legs and the tip of her nose before her first birthday.

Harmonie fought back and is now thriving with her new computerized prosthetics. "I love them. On a scale of one to ten? Ten. I'm enjoying them," Harmonie says.

The knees of the prosthetics are fitted with tiny computers. Sensors in the legs detect what Harmonie is doing and change resistance using hydraulics. That reduces her risk of falls and allows her to sit, stand, bend and kick.

Harmonie' s mom, Freya Hall, says her daughter was a quick study. "By the end of the week, she was walking independently," says Hall. "You can't explain the feeling, really, because it was just so lovely!"

Therapists at Dorset Orthopaedics say it's the devices that have to keep up with the patient. "She's an active girl," says physiotherapist Mary Tebb. "I think we last measured her at two and a half thousand steps a day, which for a bilateral amputee, that's just amazing. So, you know, they are surviving her!"

Harmonie can even climb stairs. "As long as she can hold on, she's able to climb stairs with these on," says Hall. Harmonie adds "And two steps on top of each other I can climb, like with no hold-on."

Meningitis can be viral or bacterial, but the latter is of particular concern. According to the World Health Organization, one in ten people who contract bacterial meningitis will die, and one in five have severe complications, including amputation after sepsis.

Harmonie is also a dedicated advocate for the cause. At age 6, she became the first junior ambassador for "Meningitis Now," a charity dedicated to fighting the disease.