Case 009 · January – March 2026
Noah
Strand, South Africa
A 4-year-old boy born with Symbrachydactyly who wanted fingers. He asked for blue. He calls it his robot Chase hand.
Strand, South Africa
A 4-year-old boy born with Symbrachydactyly who wanted fingers. He asked for blue. He calls it his robot Chase hand.
Noah was born with Symbrachydactyly, a condition where the fingers do not fully develop. His left hand has a thumb and small nubbins where the four fingers would normally be. He can grip and feel and pick things up, but his fingers cannot extend the way a fully developed hand would.
His mum Chantel had submitted Noah's case to the e-NABLE volunteer hub. She reached out to me directly in January 2026 and sent photos the same evening and measurements the next morning. He was four years old. When I asked what color he wanted, Chantel already knew: blue.
It was my first case from South Africa.
Because the Thumbless Kinetic Hand sits over the existing hand with each nubbin fitting into a finger slot, getting the scale right matters. I was not sure which size would work best, so I printed both and sent them together: one at 55% in light blue, one at 65% in dark blue. I figured they could try both and keep whichever fit better.
The package left in early February 2026. It got stuck in the Johannesburg postal network for weeks before finally arriving in Strand on March 5. Chantel messaged the same day. Noah had already tried both on and was excited.
Noah's left hand, January 2026, photo shared by Chantel
Size reference photo, January 2026
Chantel took careful measurement photos and uploaded higher-resolution versions so I could zoom in and assess the proportions accurately. The Thumbless Kinetic Hand works by extending over the existing hand: each of the four finger slots sits over a nubbin, and wrist extension causes the fingers to curl. Because Noah was four years old and still growing, and because I was uncertain which scale would give the best mechanical range, I decided to print both the 55% and 65% versions and let Chantel and Noah try both.
The Thumbless Kinetic Hand is printed in pieces and assembled by hand. Each finger section, the palm, and the gauntlet socket print separately, then I thread the tension cord through the joints and tie the knots that turn wrist movement into finger curl.
For Noah I printed both the 55% and 65% versions back to back, which took a few nights. The light blue filament and the dark blue are from different spools, so the tone varies slightly between the two hands. I liked how different they looked side by side.
Assembly took a couple of hours per hand. The time-lapse below shows the full build compressed down to a few seconds.
Palm side, showing the kinetic mechanism · 55% light blue
He asked for blue, so blue is what he got. The 55% hand is printed in light sky blue and the 65% in deep royal blue, both with white palm plates and white finger strings. Both are fully assembled Thumbless Kinetic Hands, complete with the tension strings that allow the fingers to curl when Noah bends his wrist forward.
Hand 1 · Light blue · 55% scale
Hand 2 · Dark blue · 65% scale
Both hands finished and packed for Strand, Western Cape · February 2026
The package arrived on March 5, 2026 after a long wait in the postal system. Chantel wrote to say Noah had already tried both hands on and was excited. The 65% fit well straight away. The 55% turned out to be a little small.
In the weeks that followed, Chantel made two small adjustments that changed everything. First she added a thin piece of foam inside the socket to cushion the areas where the plastic was pressing on Noah's skin. With the foam in place, he wore the hand to school two days in a row. His teacher noticed he was using it more. Then Chantel replaced the velcro straps with soft elastic she sewed on by hand, so Noah could put the hand on and off himself without anyone's help.
He decorated it with Paw Patrol stickers. Chase is his favorite. He calls it his robot Chase hand and apparently shows it to everyone.
"He loves showing off his robot arm to his friends."
Chantel, Noah's mum · April 2026
A prosthetist in the Western Cape who came across Noah's case has asked for the design files so he can print more hands locally. I hope it helps more kids in South Africa.
He loves showing off his robot arm to his friends. You guys are really amazing. I also bought elastic and sewed it on by hand and it sits better now. He can put it on himself. Which he likes.
Chantel · Noah's mum · Strand, Western Cape, South Africa