When Michael Campos's 4 year old son asked him to "build me a hand," his awesome dad instincts kicked in and he got to work.
Michael's son, Carter, was born without a right hand, something they knew right from the 12-week ultrasound. Although Carter got by just fine — really, nothing from holding a bottle to putting on clothes slows him down — he wanted a hand.
Michael had no idea what he was doing at first. It was a long process of learning, trial, and error.
So he connected with e-NABLE, a group of volunteers who specialize in producing prosthetic hands.
Before long, Michael had produced the hand Carter wanted, but along the way, he picked up a mission as well.
How can you deny the smile that a cool artificial hand makes? So, considering that each hand costs between $10-50 to make, he and Carter decided to start making them for other kids who need hands — at no charge.
They call it "Claws From Carter," and they make all kinds of cool custom designs, from superheroes to sports teams.
Michael has even added a glow-in-the-dark fidget spinner to Carter's latest design. Because why not make prosthetic hands for kids as awesome as possible, right?
Predictably, the reactions Carter and Michael have gotten have been absolutely beautiful, with smiles aplenty from the kids they've helped.
And the folks at e-NABLE had high praise for their efforts, too. "Michael and Carter are everything that the e-NABLE Community hoped for from the very start," wrote Jen Owen, who volunteers with the group.
The mission is continuing for this amazing twosome. Not only are they making hands for other kids, but they're also passing along their experience, too.
They're helping other families learn how to make their own 3D printed hands, too. Talk about inspiring!
