Case 007 · October 2025
S.
West Bank, Palestine
A three-year-old girl in Jerusalem, an AI portrait, and an arm built to match it — color for color.
West Bank, Palestine
A three-year-old girl in Jerusalem, an AI portrait, and an arm built to match it — color for color.
The message came in September 2025 from Luai Sub Laban — CEO of Pal Orthopedics in Jerusalem Governorate — through the e-NABLE volunteer network. He had a three-year-old patient named S., born with a congenital left limb difference below the elbow. Her family was looking for a prosthetic that would feel like it belonged to her.
Along with S.'s measurements, Luai sent something unexpected: an AI-generated portrait of her, painted in the style of a graffiti mural, wearing a prosthetic hand in rose pink, deep purple, and teal. It was a vision of who she could be. He asked if I could build it.
I said yes.
Working from measurements and a plaster cast Luai sent, I printed and assembled a Kinetic Arm to match the AI portrait exactly — rose coral forearm, deep purple palm and fingers, sky blue elbow socket. At age three, S.'s residual limb is among the smallest I've ever fitted. I scaled every component to pediatric dimensions and calibrated everything against the cast.
I completed the arm and shipped it from Scarsdale, New York on October 27, 2025 — 5,700 miles to the West Bank. Luai and the team at Pal Orthopedics are coordinating the fitting with S.'s family, working alongside the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. This will be S.'s first prosthetic.
S. at Pal Orthopedics, West Bank — September 2025
The AI portrait that became the design brief
In April 2026, Luai sent a video of S. trying out her arm for the first time. She had had it for only fifteen minutes. You can already see her figuring it out, getting better with every try. Watching that was something I will not forget.
Luai also shared that her family is very grateful and are praying for me. I am just a teenager in New York with a 3D printer. That means more than I can say.
S. trying her arm for the first time · West Bank, Palestine · April 2026
Luai's team also shared the moment on TikTok, where you can see the full reaction from S. and her family.
Watch on TikTok →Luai measured S.'s residual limb at the clinic and sent a plaster cast along with detailed photographs. Because S. is only three, the socket fit had to be precise — too loose and the arm would fall, too tight and it would be uncomfortable to wear. I calibrated everything from the cast and scaled all components to pediatric dimensions.
The Kinetic Arm is built from dozens of individually printed pieces — forearm shell, palm, five fingers, wrist joint, socket, and cover — all in S.'s chosen colors. Once everything is printed, I thread tension cord through each finger and back to the wrist: when S. bends her wrist, her fingers will close around objects. I hand-finished and tested every component before assembly.
Side by side, the AI portrait and the finished arm are nearly identical. Rose forearm. Purple hand. Blue socket. White tension hardware running through it all. What began as an illustration became something a three-year-old could wear.
Over 66 minutes of footage filmed across multiple build sessions captures the full journey — from first print to finished arm. Every component, every calibration step, every pass of tension cord. Compressed to under three minutes.
Build timelapse · 66 minutes of footage · 24× speed
You did a tremendous job and made both S. and our staff so happy. She is an amazing little girl that makes the whole world happy around her. You made such a wonderful hand.
— Luai Sub Laban, CEO, Pal Orthopedics · West Bank, Palestine · January 2026
On October 27, 2025, I walked into the Scarsdale post office carrying a carefully wrapped package — an arm I'd built for a three-year-old girl 5,700 miles away. Luai and the team at Pal Orthopedics coordinated the fitting with S.'s family alongside the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
