When Zachary Pamboukas, 8, rode a bicycle with his new
bionic arm for the first time, he had trouble sitting up straight
on the seat. He was used to having his back hurt as he leaned
forward to balance himself on the handles.
Pamboukas was born with Amniotic Band Syndrome (ABS).
ABS occurs when a part of the fetus becomes entangled in
strands of tissue from the amniotic sac surrounding the baby
in a mother’s womb. In Pamboukas’ case, the tissue or bands
restricted the growth of his arm past his elbow.
DRIVING THE FUTURE
OF HEALTH CARE
On Christmas Day 2015, he received a bionic arm from
Orlando’s Limbitless Solutions that would change his life.
Limbitless is a nonprofit organization that grew out of a student
effort at the University Central Florida (UCF). It is focused on
affordable solutions for children in need of bionic limbs. Since
children are in a constant state of growing, bionic limbs need
to be replaced often which drives up the cost. Limbitless has
curbed the financial burden with 3-D printing.
“Is it Legos?” Pamboukas asked that Christmas
morning. He builds 8-bit-style characters out
of Legos. “When I got the arm, I was like
wooooooooah. It was really cool.” The bionic
arm is modeled after Spider-Man – his favorite
superhero.
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