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Three-year-old Rayden Kahae wanted an “Iron Man” hand, and last week he got it.
The Maui boy, called “Bubba” by his family, was born with amniotic band syndrome, which left him without a right hand. Although he did fine with just one hand, his grandmother Rulan Waikiki told Hawaii’s KHON that when Rayden noticed his little sister had two, he wanted another like hers.
A prosthetic hand can cost as much as $40,000, and a growing boy like Rayden would have to be refitted regularly. However, several months ago, Waikiki made a discovery online: Thanks to 3D-printing technology, a mechanical hand could be constructed for just $50. And with help from e-NABLE — “A network of passionate volunteers using 3D printing to give the world a ‘Helping Hand’” — Rayden’s Iron Man hand didn’t cost his family a penny.
It’s even red and gold.
The arrival of the new hand was captured on video, which you can see below. “As soon as he put it on and was able to close the hand, his face just lit up,” Waikiki told KHON. “I’m not sure if the video, you can hear it on there, but he does say, ‘I can hold my own hand.’”
Here’s a terrific follow-up of sorts to the heartwarming story of Rayden Kahae, the 3-year-old boy who received a prosthetic “Iron Man” hand thanks to 3D-printing technology and the efforts of e-NABLE: There’s also a Wolverine hand — with claws, naturally.
The organization describes itself as “a network of passionate volunteers using 3D printing to give the world a ‘Helping Hand,’” and one of those is Aaron Brown, who wanted to build a hand to take to a local children’s hospital and to the MakerFaire in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As he wanted to use bright colors, and the University of Michigan’s mascot is the Wolverine, there was only one imaginable option for the comics fan.
“The comic-loving nerd inside of me (along with some Facebook friends) said there is no way I can make a Wolverine hand without CLAWS,” Brown told e-NABLE. “So I modeled some in Sketchup the morning before the MakerFaire, printed ‘em, spray-painted ‘em silver and velcro’d ‘em on there. Turned out pretty darn cool!”
The response from the children was, predictably, overwhelmingly positive. “People’s faces just LIT UP!” Brown said. “The kids went crazy over it.”
He assures there’s no need to worry about anyone getting injured: The claws aren’t made of adamantium; they’re rounded plastic — and removable.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
I find it interesting that prosthetics for adults have been made to imitate a real hand (with some exceptions), but a kid would rather pick something more extravagant.
Ask yourself: have you rated a gallery image today?
Smiled the whole time I was reading those stories... brilliant work by that organization and much admiration for young Mr. Kahae. His attitude would surely elicit an approving nod from Mr. Tony Stark himself.
