Where There Is a Will ...

The American Profile magazine comes free with the newspaper, and the issue of 4/27-5/3 contains a story that ought to inspire almost anyone.

A little boy, 9, was born without fingers on one hand.  Matthew was self-conscious about the hand and it was holding him back socially at school.  His mother knew of the problem, but even with insurance, there was no way that she could afford a prosthetic hand.

A South African carpenter who lost four fingers in a circular saw accident and a theatrical props manager, Ivan Owen, of Bellingham, WA had invented Robohand.  Amazingly, with such generosity, they posted the design for their creation on thingiverse.com last year.  Matthew's mother found the plans  but knew she wouldn't be able to make sense of them.

Enter Mason Wilde, a junior at Louisburg High School, Kansas.  He hopes to be an engineer some day and so he took up the challenge.  He spent three hours scaling the plans to fit Matthew's hand.  Then he used a 3-D printer at the Johnson County Library in Overland Park, Kansas to make the parts.  The 20 parts were put together with nylon cord and stainless steel screws.  The materials only cost $60.

Matthew's hand allows him to open doors, carry books, and catch a ball!!  Kids who see his hand are amazed and tell him up front, "It's cool."  And it really is!  It is colorful and attractive.

Meanwhile, Mason started a nonprofit in order to raise money for a 3-D printer that can make more prosthetics. 

I just saw such a printer mentioned in Martha Stewart Living.  The price has come down substantially so Mason has every chance of being able to buy one. 

Can you imagine what an essay that he might write for his college entrance will sound like?  I would be very impressed by this young man, and his parents should be very proud of him.

We know that there are problems out there with our youth -- drugs and alcohol -- and the tuning out that comes with too much electronics.  Too many youth who don't know God.

But Mason defies the impression that some teens convey.  He is a special young man, and his new friend, Matthew, is pretty special too.

Stories like this one bring to mind the one thing my mother used to say more often than not, "Well, we'll just have to make do."  Her MacGiver-style approach to life meant that we had to stretch our minds to figure out solutions.  There's nothing wrong with helping our kids and grandchildren learn the same.

Thanks for reading,

Karen