CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – Adrian Rosa is a fifth grader at Bowe Elementary School. Thursday, Chicopee Comprehensive High School senior Ben Allard gave him a helping hand, literally.
Adrian was born without a left hand, but Ben designed and 3-D printed one for him in drafting class.
“Adrian’s face definitely made me smile,” said Ben.
When asked what he most most excited to do with his new hand, Adrian said, “hold stuff.”
It takes 24 hours to print all the parts for a hand, and then once it’s printed, Ben puts it all together. The project took about three weeks from concept to completion, and this is something Ben wants to continue doing in college.
“I plan on going for product design and sustainability,” Ben explained. “It does stuff similar to this. You’re just taking modern problems and finding solutions to them.”
“All he wants to do is better the world,” said Ben’s mother Carolyn Allard. “When your kid says, ‘I’m going to make a difference in the world,’ a lot of us say as parents, ‘yeah okay.’ But, I know my kid is going to.”
Adrian’s mom Heather Rosa told 22News, they’ve been trying to get him a prosthetic hand for about five years now.
“Through our occupational therapist and Chicopee Comp., we made this happen,” said Rosa. “If you keep on advocating for your kids, the stars will align and things will happen for them.”
Ben said that he hopes Adrian’s new hand will continue to grow with him in the future.
