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Summer 2017 | By Angie Lewis聽 麻豆精品 S�03

didn 麻豆精品 S檛 start off with the colorfully detailed, custom designs for which they 麻豆精品 S檙e now known 麻豆精品 S� such as the Iron Man-inspired arm their first recipient, Alex Pring, received in 2015. It wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 until the UCF student-run organization that creates noticed Alex changing the colorful fingertips on the original arm he received that they realized how important it was to give kids arms that show off their personalities.

This creative customization is what inspired Stephanie Valderrama 麻豆精品 S�16 to volunteer for the nonprofit. The says she often found herself in the engineering building, admiring its innovative, fun spaces, when she came across a display of Alex and the work Limbitless Solutions was doing.

麻豆精品 S淚 saw the [arm] sleeves and noticed that they were hand-painted, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 like to paint, so I thought I would volunteer and start there. 麻豆精品 S�

After first putting her graphic design skills to use on one of the organization 麻豆精品 S檚 Indiegogo campaigns, which helps to raise much of the money to create and build bionic limbs, Valderrama finally got to show off her artistic abilities, designing and hand-painting the intricate details on many of the arms.

Here 麻豆精品 S檚 the inside scoop on Valderrama 麻豆精品 S檚 favorite bionic arm:

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The Reveal
Connor Moline was born with a partial left limb due to amniotic band syndrome. He was 12 years old when he received his Minecraft-themed arm as part of Limbitless Solutions 麻豆精品 S� 12 Arms for Christmas project in 2015. 麻豆精品 S淭hat was my first time seeing the reaction of a child getting my arm, 麻豆精品 S� Valderrama says of watching the family 麻豆精品 S檚 home video. 麻豆精品 S淗e opened his wrapped box and said, 麻豆精品 S業t 麻豆精品 S檚 my Minecraft arm! It 麻豆精品 S檚 so cool! 麻豆精品 S� He turned it all around and had this look of amazement. 麻豆精品 S�

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The Theme
When beginning the design of Connor 麻豆精品 S檚 arm, Valderrama had very little knowledge of Minecraft. And she had never heard of Connor 麻豆精品 S檚 favorite character, the Endermen, who have long arms and purple eyes and leave behind floating purple particles when they teleport. 麻豆精品 S淚 decided to explore the video game realm and played some games to immerse myself, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 took inspiration from the cubical form and colors for my sketches. 麻豆精品 S�

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The Design
Valderrama knew the design would be tough since Minecraft is pixelated, much like video games in the early 麻豆精品 S�80s. To achieve the look, she used spray, acrylic and metallic paints in designing this arm, which is made from the same plastic as Legos. 麻豆精品 S淲e had just bought metallic spray paint and never used it before, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淭he sparkly texture made the sleeve all the more interesting, and it fit with the mystical character Connor loves so much. 麻豆精品 S�

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The Ultimate Payoff
Connor 麻豆精品 S檚 mom, Wendy, says he was most affected by 麻豆精品 S渢he fact that he was finally getting the opportunity to feel 麻豆精品 S榳hole 麻豆精品 S� for the first time in his life. He spent much of that evening testing out the arm and opening and closing the hand, trying to pick up small objects. Several times, I would notice his full hand holding the prosthetic hand. At first, I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 think anything about it. Later on, I realized, he has never had his other hand to hold 麻豆精品 S� and now he has one. 麻豆精品 S�

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The Reaction
For most kids, the real approval comes from their friends. And thanks to Valderrama 麻豆精品 S檚 spot-on design work, Connor 麻豆精品 S檚 Minecraft masterpiece received unanimous approval from all. 麻豆精品 S淸Limbitless Solutions] did an outstanding job on the artwork of his arm, 麻豆精品 S� Wendy says. 麻豆精品 S淗is classmates at school thought it was a pretty neat design when he showed them. All of our friends and family loved the look of the arm, but beyond that, it was the smile on Connor 麻豆精品 S檚 face that lit up the whole room. 麻豆精品 S�