"Karissa’s mother told Time, 'Karissa really identifies with Elsa because she knows what it’s like to be different from everyone else.'" Image: Siena College
Queen Elsa isn't the only one with magic hands anymore!
Nine-year-old Karissa Mitchell was born missing part of her right hand and arm. And while she wasn’t born with a love of the movie Frozen, she certainly has plenty of that too!
Karissa’s mother told Time, “Karissa really identifies with Elsa because she knows what it’s like to be different from everyone else.”
Karissa didn’t have had a group of trolls around to help her out like Elsa and Anna did. Instead, she got her magical powers in the form of a 3-D printed prosthetic hand, created for her by a group of physics majors at Siena College.
The students used their school’s 3-D printing equipment and designs available from Enabling the Future, a non-profit that helps provide prosthetics to those in need. They custom-designed an arm that Karissa can use to pick up and manipulate objects. Best of all? The arm is Frozen-themed! It’s a pale, Elsa-esque blue color with snowflakes etched into the plastic. It even has a detachable Olaf light!
In a video Siena College made about Karissa and the students who designed her hand, one of the students says, “Our goal is to help people. That's what we get out of it. Yes, we learn about 3-D printing and the technology, different engineering concepts, but the best thing is today. Seeing the look on her face and hop[ing] we can change her life a little bit for the better.”
The desire to help. That’s the real magic, isn’t it?
