An eight-year-old U.S. girl with a 3D-printed prosthetic hand threw the first pitch at Tuesday night’s Toronto Blue Jays game against the Boston Red Sox. It was the 25th time she’s had the honour at a Major League Baseball stadium.
Hailey Dawson was born with which is a birth defect that leads to missing or underdeveloped muscles on one side of the body. In Hailey’s case, she is missing her right pectoral muscle and three fingers.
After getting a prosthetic hand from the University of Las Vegas Nevada, Dawson was asked to throw out a pitch at a Baltimore Orioles game in 2015. Soon, the Washington Nationals asked her to throw their honorary pitch.
“After that, she kept asking, what’s next?†Hailey’s mother, Yong Dawson, told Â鶹´«Ã½. “I said, do you want to throw it out for all 30 ball leagues? She said yes.â€
Hailey told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel that throwing out the pitch in front of thousands of people doesn’t make her nervous. Asked to pick a favourite game, she said, “all of them.â€
Dawson said the goal is to raise awareness about Poland syndrome and also just to let people know that 3D-printed hands are available.
For Hailey, the hand has a been a big confidence booster, according to her mom.
“When she puts it on, she garners a lot of attention,†she said. “Her classmates and everyone thinks it’s cool so it’s helping with her self-esteem and confidence."
We are honoured to have tossing tonight's first pitch.
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays)
This will mark the 25th stop on her incredible 30 stadium journey!
Official photo of Hailey, Zach, and when Hailey threw out the first pitch this past Monday. Such a memorable experience. Thank you Clayton and
— Haileys_hand (@haileys_hand)
.’s getting ready for first pitch! Be sure to watch live at .
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers)
Another ballpark down for !
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox)
So this happened at batting practice with yesterday. This is and with Hailey. She is holding batting gloves given to her by Todd Frazier. She was so excited! Thank you Todd. You made a great day even better for Hailey.
— Haileys_hand (@haileys_hand)