Making a little girls day
She lost her lower arm in early April. With a good doctor and parents looking for help we were able to make a big difference in a place where all too few can get a prosthetic. For a six year old this was a big hurdle. She came in worried and still won't look at her arm but it all changed when she put on her arm with working fingers!
RE: Making a little girls day
Damn Bro.... Just can't find the words. The photograph is profound all by itself; however, the rest of the story makes this picture amazing. Children are quite resilient at this age, but they have their limitations as a human. Considering the timeframes stated, this is pretty amazing. Thank you Sailor Eric for bringing a bit of joy, comfort, and independence for this child, as well as her parents.
Ashley
RE: Making a little girls day
Man you are a real life hero. Keep up the good work.
RE: Making a little girls day
That's fantastic - a real 'proper' use for 3D printing! The photo is wonderfully shot too!!
Any pics of the printer/s setup in the boat?
--> MK4 - MK4S - MINI+ - MMU3 - Accelerometer Guide - BambuLab A1 Combo <--
RE: Making a little girls day
It's a mess at the moment, three arms in production and working on a special above elbow loss prototype. Two Mk3S+ and a Raise 3D E2. The Raise 3D gives me the bed size I need for large adult forearms but I have little good to say about it. The Prusas are my workhorses often running 24/7. It's in a narrow walk through under the cockpit. Hard to get an angle for a good picture here! I do thermoforming on the galley counter and the nav station has become a tool area! Never planned on this for my retirement but God had other ideas. Now I wouldn't do anything else.
That's fantastic - a real 'proper' use for 3D printing! The photo is wonderfully shot too!!
Any pics of the printer/s setup in the boat?
RE: Making a little girls day
Fantastic project ! Keep up the good work !!!
Could you elaborate on the working fingers some more ?
Having problems with bed adhesion every morning...
RE: Making a little girls day
The fingers are operated by "tendon lines" that run from the fingertips all the way through the arm to an adjusting block on the upper arm cuff. When the elbow is bent it tightens them and the fingers and thumb close. There are orthotic band "springs" fitted in the knuckles to pull them straight when the elbow is released. The open source design is from Team Unlimbited. They have a website with links to their designs. There are videos on YouTube and we have lots of pictures and videos of what we do on Facebook under my name, Eric Lamoray.
RE: Making a little girls day
Thanks for your reply ! Not high-tech, but pretty effective I guess !
Having problems with bed adhesion every morning...
RE: Making a little girls day
Here in the rural third world, high tech is pretty useless unfortunately. Batteries for these people are pretty much unobtainable as well as unaffordable. I have helped people who would have to travel several days in each direction just to get to a place that sold them. The cost would be equal to food for a week for them, which they already can barely afford. Then there's the climate, high heat and humidity, the arms will work for days in the rain and probably cross the occasional stream or river and go for a swim. Don't think a high tech arm is up to that duty! Plus we could never afford to make them for free and these people can't afford one as it is!
RE: Making a little girls day
Amazing! The world needs more Erics. Thank You Eric L.
RE: Making a little girls day
I didn't mean to belittle the execution, sometimes the simplest solution is literaly the best !
I just was thrown of guard after seeing the "wires" running down the arm.
Keep up the good work !
Having problems with bed adhesion every morning...
RE: Making a little girls day
No problem! We seem to field a lot of questions about why we don't do powered prosthetics so I usually try to explain the differences in life here. I've actually had people try to engage in major arguments which I find crazy!
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You are the King, Eric. 😍 You are winning our hearts.
RE: Making a little girls day
Something got in my eye...
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@sailoreric, you are literally combining two things that I truly love (sailing and 3D printing) and taking it a step further; interacting with those kids on this level takes a real man, with the world's biggest heart and an incredible amount of grit. I'd be a mess just seeing that little girl.
If there's anything I can do to help... I'm a good hand with CAD and I can prototype. I'd offer to print and send parts, but it sounds like it would be impossible to get them to you.
RE: Making a little girls day
I came across this site and planning on getting involved as I get better at 3D printing and finish getting my workshop setup for the electronics work.
https://makersmakingchange.com
Looking for people to make things for handicapped people.
RE: Making a little girls day
Thanks for the offer of help! You should get a boat and come out here in the big world and pitch in!!! We also do an awful lot of adults. It's so very different here. No social safety net. Very different culture. Very hard for adults to find work with a limb difference. But we do what we can and have seen great successes. We've just passed 80 and are getting some into the neighboring country now! Considering the estimate is 1.4 needed worldwide we won't be running out of work anytime soon. Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry but it's all so worth it.
@sailoreric, you are literally combining two things that I truly love (sailing and 3D printing) and taking it a step further; interacting with those kids on this level takes a real man, with the world's biggest heart and an incredible amount of grit. I'd be a mess just seeing that little girl.
If there's anything I can do to help... I'm a good hand with CAD and I can prototype. I'd offer to print and send parts, but it sounds like it would be impossible to get them to you.
RE: Making a little girls day
Hello. What you have done is amazing.