Isabella Tadlock had a dream: She wanted to be able to "bend her fingers and pick things up."
But for that, she would need hands, the 11-year-old wrote on a fundraising website.
"I was born with out fingers on my right hand. My left arm was shorter than my right and I have a nub on the end. After many surgeries I have 3 fingers and a thumb on my right hand," Isabella explained, asking people to chip in toward her effort.
Isabella is a huge fan of "Star Wars" and Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the hugely popular series, came across her donation link and retweeted it.
—Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) November 26, 2019
After raising nearly $14,000, the resident of Tallahassee, Florida, got her wish when she was able to afford an R2-D2 bionic arm from Open Bionics, a UK startup.
An excited Isabella shared the update with her supporters on the Mightycause website, saying, "I am so excited, I will be able to ride my bike, swing on the monkey bars (yes girl!), create in the kitchen and be like my friends."
And then came the next surprise.
Hamill got on a video chat with Isabella and the pair spoke for nearly 30 minutes on February 20, her mother, Pamela Tadlock, told CNN.
Open Bionics, whose product is called the Hero Arm and tagline is "Turning disabilities into superpowers," shared footage from their conversation on YouTube.
In it, Isabella exclaimed, "It's Luke Skywalker!"
Hamill checked in on the young girl and introduced her to his two dogs, Mabel and Millie. When Isabella showed him her bionic arm, Hamill replied, "Oh, man! That is fantastic. Wow!"
Watching Isabella fulfill her dream of grab things off a table, Hamill said, "I heard you're a 'Star Wars' fan. But I have to tell you, I'm a big fan of yours. I'm so proud of you. So happy ... that you were able to have this happen for you.
"They call it a Hero Arm because you really are a hero."
Isabella has enjoyed every bit of the weeks since she was fitted with the bionic arm, Tadlock said to CNN.
"It's helping tremendously with her self-esteem and confidence," she said. "Just last night for the first time she was able to blow dry her hair by herself."
