This is one of the more heartwarming ceremonial first pitches that you'll ever see before a Major League Baseball game.
This past Monday night (August 17), adorable five-year-old Hailey Dawson threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Baltimore Orioles game against the Oakland A's at Camden Yards. But this wasn't any first pitch tossed by another cute kid, as Dawson under-handed the ball using her robotic right hand to Orioles third baseman Manny Machado.
According to MASN, Dawson was born with a rare disease called Poland Sydrome, which reportedly affects one of three newborns per 100,000. Those suffering from the rare disease are born with missing or abnormalities of their chest muscles and many are also born with abnormalities of their hands.
In Dawson's case, her right hand wasn't fully developed, leaving her without fully-formed fingers on her right hand. A few years ago, Dawson's mother learned and researched about 3D printing being used for prosthetics and robotic limbs. After months of research and requests, the UNLV engineering department took on the task of creating a 3D-printed robotic hand for Dawson.
"This is a dream project," Professor Brendan O'Toole, chairman of the mechanical engineering department at UNLV, told KTNV. "You get to help somebody, you've got a little bit of robotics. It's a great design project."
After additional months of testing and trial periods, Dawson was fitted with the robotic hand last October, making this first pitch one of the more memorable ones that baseball fans will ever see.
Pretty special.
