Blake Hall
Not only is five-year-old Hailey Dawson one of the cutest things you’ll ever see, she’s a pioneer. An intrepid explorer in the ever-progressing field of dynamic prosthetics.
You see, Hailey was born with Poland Syndrome, a malady that made her right hand underdeveloped at birth. Unfortunately, the handicap was diagnosed to only get worse with age. Fortunately, her mother Yong had an answer: ask students at the University of Nevada Las Vegas to make her a 3-D printed hand that’s operated by wrist movement.
And that’s exactly what they did.
The fruit of their labor can be seen in the incredible footage below, as Hailey threw a strike to her professional baseball hero — Oriole Manny Machado — before Baltimore’s Tuesday night game against the New York Mets.
“When Hailey’s wrist goes to a down motion, the fingers will grasp and when it goes in the up motion, the fingers release,” said Yong.
Of course, this great news for so many — especially for disabled U.S. military veterans. According to a recent figure, more than 1,600 vets experienced major limb losses in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Endnote: What Hailey pulled off — with a robotic hand, mind you — is an incredible feat. If you don’t think so, check out these luminaries who tried to do the same and with their own (albeit uncoordinated) hands …