3D Printing with Wonder Woman Power

The Born Just Right community is a stunning group of people. We are from all parts of the world. We have some type of touchpoint in the special needs world – especially limb differences. It’s given us a chance to peek into some amazing developments: From brain research on limb different adults to the growing evolution of the 3D printing world. It’s an amazing time where we all have a chance to be more involved in creating tools to add confidence and health. Earlier this year, Jordan had a chance to build her own sparkle bomb arm (also known as “Project Unicorn”) and she continues to work on developing new versions of her vision. It really is possible to “body hack” by creating cool things that fit the body you have.

One of the organizations moving this forward is a spin-off of the eNABLE open source community. Thanks to a big grant from Google, the Enable Community Foundation is not only developing new tools for kids and adults in the United States, it is also working to develop tools that can be produced easily in third world countries. Thanks to Born Just Right and the time I’ve spent following these developments for our limb difference community, I had a chance to meet some of the original founders of the 3D printed prosthetic revolution while I attended the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. I got to watch kids and adults learn more about how 3D printing can help inspire and encourage people with limb differences. It was really cool.

And then I got a very sweet surprise for Jordan. One of the Enable Community Foundation members had a new arm made and offered to give it to Jordan. And this arm is VERY cool. It may not fit her perfectly, but it really doesn’t matter. It’s something fun that no one else in her household or school can wear: A Wonder Woman arm! I surprised her with it this morning:

Jordan is super excited. And empowered. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since Jordan had a chance to build her own 3D designs is there’s a sense of amazing strength and confidence that comes with learning how to build your own tools and toys. This new Wonder Woman arm may not fit just right or properly open and close because Jordan doesn’t have an elbow. But that doesn’t matter. She feels strong.