6-Year-Old Boy's Christmas Wish, coming true

[Hum]

Like most kids, 6-year-old Christopher Kiezek sat on Santa Claus's lap and requested an Xbox One. But unlike others his age, he also asked Santa for fingers so he could play. Now, thanks to an online campaign, Christopher's request will become reality.

The Long Island, New York, native was born without part of his left arm. His mother, Christine, told radio station 1010 WINS that Christopher's old prosthesis does not fit him. Insurance will not cover the cost of a new one because it isn't considered necessary to the child's life.

After hearing of the secret request that he whispered to Santa Claus, family friend Robert Jackson set up a GoFundMe campaign. The goal was to raise the $25,000 needed for Christopher's prosthetic arm.

"I cried," Jackson said to Fox TV station WNYW in New York after he learned of the boy's Christmas wish. "It's what Christmas is all about ? raising money for someone in need. That's what we're trying to do."

That is exactly what the family friend, known as Uncle Bobby, accomplished, along with the help of some media attention and many generous donations. The fundraising goal was doubled, and Christopher will receive the news from his parents on Christmas Day that his wish is coming true.

 

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[thomastmc]

Now he goes from being the kid with the weird arm to being the kid with the bionic arm. How cool is that.

 

Since they got twice as much money as they needed, they should use the left over funds to make him another arm that is an Xbox controller :)

[Liana]

This is an awesome story! :D

[The Evil Overlord]

(Y)

[123456789A]

They could have trolled the kid and said he doesn't need fingers to play the Xbox One because it has Kinect!

[FiB3R]

I would so pwn him on Forza.

[The Evil Overlord]

They could have trolled the kid and said he doesn't need fingers to play the Xbox One because it has Kinect!

[FloatingFatMan]

 Insurance will not cover the cost of a new one because it isn't considered necessary to the child's life.

 

This is just another excellent example of everything that's wrong with the US medical system.  Seriously, what's the point of medical insurance if they won't even provide equipment needed for a decent quality of life?  In the UK, the kid would have a prosthesis for nothing and this great act of charity wouldn't have been necessary in the first place.

 

Mr Jackson is clearly a really nice guy for organizing this for the kid, but he shouldn't have had too!

[HawkMan]

So what happens when he grows out of this arm again then ? Judging from his age, it's not going to last very long. Not sure how extendible and such these prosthesis are, but they can only go so far.

Will they have another fund raising ? Wouldn't it be better to set away the rest of the money for the next time? Will the American health system at some point decide he needs the arm or is this a forever decision ?

[DocM]

Speaking as an amputee,

MOST modern prosthetics are modular, meaning as his arm grows they will just make a new carbon fiber socket and fit the working bits to that. I get a new socket on my 16 month post-op residual leg every few months as it changes size due to shrinkage. His will be the opposite.

Eventually the new hand/wrist bits will be out of proportion, but well down the road and hopefully the costs will decline as the mechanical linkages become 3D printed (yes, and its already being done on consumer grade devices.)

Better yet, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has come up with a 3D printable carbon composite that would be perfect for upper body prosthetics.

[techbeck]

Obviously a marketing stunt that Microsoft had a part in to boost sales for the X1.....

Sarcasm aside...good deal. Acts like this, especially around the holiday,is what this world needs more of

[thomastmc]

Speaking as an amputee,

MOST prosthetics are modular, meaning as his arm grows they will just male anew carbon fiber socket and fit the working bits to that. I get a new socket on my 1 year post-op residual leg as it changes size due to shrinkage. His will be the opposite.

Eventually the new hand/wrist bits will be out of proportion, but well down the road and hopefully the costs will decline as the mechanical linkages become 3D printed (yes, and its already being done on consumer grade devices.)

Better yet, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has come up with a 3D printable carbon composite that would be perfect for upper body prosthetics.

 

It's really amazing how literally almost everything, from food and clothes to cars, are capable of being 3D printed. Especially since the technology is so relatively new outside of aerospace.

 

The pace of innovation is profound. If you think something is reasonably possible today, it often probably already exists today. To think of what will be common place technologies in 10-20 years is staggering, not to mention what we will be on the cusp of by then. We are in a period of change not at all unlike the early-mid 1900's, when electricity, phones, radio, automobiles, television, medicine, etc. dramatically revolutionized society and civilization. The only difference is that the changes today are just happening too fast to keep track of.

 

The main aim of Handie, already a James Dyson award nominee, was to develop an artificial hand that offered a large degree of functionality without the brutal prices associated with prosthetics.

With the latest model, it apparently skirts below a $400 price tag, substituting a smartphone for previously dedicated processing hardware as well as 3D printing. The use of printable parts makes Handie repairable, meaning it should last as long (or possibly longer) as models that use substantially more expensive materials. Because all the components (aside from the motors) can be printed, it means customization, design improvements and repairs are all possible -- and cheaply too.

The team also has a customized mechanism for finger flexing, reducing the number of motors needed to just one per three-segment digit.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/03/handie-prosthetic-cheaper-smartphone-3d-printing/

[DocM]

I agree on the pace of change - it's truly transformational.

In aerospace SpaceX is printing the combustion chamber & cooled nozzle of 15-20 klbf thrusters, the aircraft manufacturers are printing engine and structural parts.

Another outfit, Metalysis, has come up with a cheap way to make titanium, tantalum, rare earth and custom alloy powders for 3D metal printing. They are looking at the auto industry as a primary customer. Other companies are talking printable polymer electronics, displays and batteries.

The European Space Agency is developing a 3D metal printer for the ISS that's that's the size of a built in oven. Imagine that being commercialized.

I can see a day when multi-modal product printers are in homes. You link to the plans and products or parts are printed by your replication device.

[Growled Member]

And this is what Christmas is all about. :)