She has a dream of throwing the first pitch at every major league ballpark. Now, she’s one step closer to achieving it.
But as inspiring as her dream is the fact that Hailey Dawson wears a 3D-printed prosthetic hand, WGN reported.
Hailey was born missing three fingers. She has a rare disease called Poland syndrome. The syndrome causes people to be born with underdeveloped muscles on one side of the body and could cause abnormalities in the chest, shoulder, arm and hand, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Poland syndrome happens in about 1 in 20,000 newborns and more often in boys than girls, according to the NIH.
In 2014, Hailey's mother, Yong Dawson, asked officials at the University of Nevada Las Vegas if they could build her daughter a hand so she could ride a bike, WGN reported.
But that was only the first obstacle Hailey tackled. She wanted to start raising awareness of Poland syndrome, and to do that, she wanted to throw the first pitch at each ballpark in the major league.
So far she's done it 13 times, the latest Tuesday at the White Sox game against the Cleveland Indians in Chicago, WGN reported.
Not only did she get to throw the first pitch, she also was given a batting glove by Chicago third baseman Yolmer Sanchez and an autograph from Pitcher Lucas Giolito, WGN reported.
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The next game she’s appearing at is the St. Louis Cardinals for pitch number 14 Wednesday night.
To follow Hailey's quest, click here.
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