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 Poland syndrome, 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 CTV News. “I said, do you want to throw it out for all 30 ball leagues? She said yes.”
Hailey told CTV News 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.”
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 @haileys_hand tossing tonight's first pitch.
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 7, 2018
This will mark the 25th stop on her incredible 30 stadium journey! pic.twitter.com/Q5iB5eIfqi
Official photo of Hailey, Zach, and @ClaytonKersh22 when Hailey threw out the first pitch this past Monday. Such a memorable experience. @JonSooHooPics Thank you Clayton and @Dodgers pic.twitter.com/MLQOQPrYwM
— Haileys_hand (@haileys_hand) August 4, 2018
.@haileys_hand’s getting ready for first pitch! Be sure to watch live at https://t.co/zd8Ug5wiTe. pic.twitter.com/d4thqeDM7g
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 31, 2018
Another ballpark down for @haileys_hand! pic.twitter.com/ZJVIzDdu3I
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) July 12, 2018
So this happened at batting practice with @Mets yesterday. This is @mconforto8 and @FlavaFraz21 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. pic.twitter.com/dV8wkBPk3u
— Haileys_hand (@haileys_hand) July 7, 2018