Zahra Tabibniya was born without a left arm, but thanks to a prosthetic limb she now has a new lease on life. The 23-year-old said she felt embarrassed during her school years and wanted to hide the truth. She tried different prosthetics, including a heavy limb made of silicone — but now she has a lightweight one that looks real and allows her to perform delicate tasks like tying her shoelaces and styling her hair. The $850 silicone prosthetic looks natural, with painted-on veins, freckles, moles, and acrylic nails. She even got a color touch-up to match her summer tan. She went on to explain that people think it’s just a cosmetic thing because it looks so natural, but it actually has most of the function that an actual arm has. Zahra can now carry her own luggage, check her phone, and do myriad of other tasks, which all translates to freedom for the young woman. Today, she has about 60% of function in her new left arm and now takes the time to educate people about her disability. “Kids are always going to speculate — their imaginations go wild — but parents and teachers just tell them not to ask questions. I want people to ask questions. The more questions they ask, the more educated they become.”
