Hailey Dawson is an 8 year-old girl who was born with Poland’s Syndrome, a rare disorder that leaves people with missing or underdeveloped muscles on one side of their body. The disorder affected the development of Hailey’s right hand and left her without most of her fingers, but she has never let this hold her back in life!
Despite her disability, Hailey has become a fixture in the major league baseball world, as she is on a mission to throw the first pitch at every MLB stadium across the country. The little girl has been throwing pitches everywhere from Yankee Stadium to a World Series game in Houston using a robotic hand and a 3D printer.
“This kid owns it,” said her mother, Yong Dawson. “Her hand – she owns it. It does not define who she is.”
Long explained that Hailey is a highly adaptable child who can accomplish mostly everything without mechanical aid.
“She would have been [right-handed], because when she was a baby, she would always try with the right hand first and go, oh, okay, that doesn’t work – and then use her left hand,” Yong said.
Long began looking into a robotic hand for her daughter five years ago, when she contacted the engineering team at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“What worried me was, she couldn’t hold the handlebars,” Yong said. “So I emailed UNLV, because I thought, who better than [university] kids, right? They’re totally going to relate to her and she’ll be able to talk to them. And they said yes.”
Yong went on to explain how Hailey’s goal of throwing the first pitch at every MLB stadium in the U.S. came about.
“We’re a huge baseball family,” Yong said. “My husband grew up playing baseball; my son has played baseball for nine years. He’s primarily a pitcher and first base player.”
Despite all the attention Hailey has received for her pitches, Yong said that the little girl is completely unfazed by it.
“Whatever she wants to do, she does it on her own,” Yong said.
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