Girl, 7, wants to throw the first pitch at every Major League Baseball game... with robotic hand
A seven-year-old girl from Las Vegas wants to throw the first pitch for all 30 Major League Baseball teams stateside.
Hailey Dawson suffers from Poland Syndrome, which is a rare birth defect whereby individuals are born with missing or underdeveloped muscles on one side of the body, resulting in abnormalities that can affect the chest, shoulder, arm, and hand.
Seven-year-old, Hailey, was born with a right palm, but not all of her fingers on that hand, so her mum turned to The University of Nevada Las Vegas' Engineering Department.
Her mum, Yong, asked the department to undertake the task of creating a 3D printed prosthetic hand, so her daughter could have more independence, and take part in normal everyday tasks such as riding a bike in a safe manner.
But first up on Hailey's list was to complete her favourite thing – throw the first pitch at a baseball game, and UNLV had no problem in making it happen.
Designing the hand for the youngster, the department also made it possible for Hailey to throw first pitch at their university game soon after.
And following the excitement, up next for the seven-year-old was pitching for her favourite team – the Baltimore Orioles.
Yong had sent a letter to the club requesting her daughter's wish, to which they responded positively and in return Hailey threw the first pitch for the Orioles to her favourite player, Manny Machado.
While Hailey's latest goal is to pitch for all 30 Major League teams, her mum is using the current situation to raise awareness surrounding Poland Syndrome.
In total, Hailey has seven different hands, as Yong wants other parents to know how accessible and affordable it is to avail of a 3D printed prosthetic.
Moreover – since her story was picked up by Bleacher Report, Hailey's dream might just become reality as 24 MLB teams have been in touch, inviting the youngster to pitch.
sometimes twitter is really good pic.twitter.com/sWzoEIDcEG
— Nats Squid (@NatsSquid) 7 September 2017
This is one story we'll definitely be following – just proves you can do anything you set your mind to – well done Hailey!