Just in time to tear into his gifts from Santa, young Charlie Egan get’s himself a new 3D printed arm thanks to the kindness – and holiday spirit – of E-nable. Charlie is believed to be the first resident of the UK to receive a 3D-printed, full-arm prosthetic.
Being noticeably different is never fun, and even less so for a child. Most of us remember times when our peers asked intrusive questions that made us feel bad about ourselves or feel alienated from them. I can only imagine how it would be for a kid born without an arm.
While replacing the missing limb with a prosthetic printed in Spider-Man’s iconic red and blue colors may not do much to stem the intrusive questions, it most certainly makes answering them more enjoyable. Not to mention, the new arm suddenly made Charlie able to do the things that others take for granted, like decorate the Christmas tree, ride his new scooter around the neighborhood, and easily rip the paper off of his gifts.
“It will change his life. He has to deal with negative comments about people asking what happened to his arm, and staring at him every day of his life.” His mother told the Daily Mail . “Instead of saying what happened, now people say, ‘Wow, you have a superhero arm’. Charlie is thrilled with it. He can’t stop smiling.”
The colorful arm was sent to Charlie, thanks to US-based E-nable and a local 3D printer owner in London. E-nable is a network of engineers and artists who donate their time to design and create prosthetic arms for children in need. They even have educators who teach parents how to design, print and assemble their own prosthetics, in case parts need to be replaced or made bigger for their growing child.
Previous E-Nable designs have worked based on the movement of the wearer’s wrist, allowing them to easily grip objects without the need for complex mechanics or robotics. Unfortunately the original design would never have worked for Charlie, as he was missing his entire arm from just below the elbow down.
So their original design was modified into a full arm prosthesis that allowed Charlie to bend his fingers and grab objects by flexing his elbow. The arm is held in place using simple Velcro straps and was based off of a plaster cast that was made by his parents. Having the cast allowed the designers who were making Charlie’s arm to create a device that would fit him perfectly, making it more comfortable and functional.
You can read more about Charlie and his new arm on the Daily Mail article, or check out his Facebook page. And, if you have a child in need of a prosthetic arm or want to help, you can find out more information about E-nable on their website.
