“We’re going to have to struggle a bit to pay for it,” she said. “She’s determined to do it, and I’m determined to help her.”

If all goes well, Pomahac said Hayes could begin to have sensation in her new hands about a year after surgery.

Even without that, though, gaining an elbow and forearm would greatly improve her function because the arm could be used as a hook to hold bags or as a lever, he said.

Pomahac said that Hayes and her husband, Al, have been proceeding well through screening, which includes a psychological assessment “so that people don’t expect miracles but expect what we hope we can give them.”

In a profile in the Houston Chronicle on Monday, Hayes said, “I want my life back.”

“I want to hold my last child before she’s grown — and she’s already 2,” she told the Chronicle. “If anybody tells me ‘no,’ I’ll just go to the next hospital. ‘No’ is not an option.”

Read more about the Hayes family on their blog.