James Robert III was born with fingers on his left hand, and he is using his disability to fuel a passion to help his kind.
Recently, Louisiana State University Graduate, Make Good Nola, is serving as the main print technologists in the New Orleans-based organization, chasing a master’s degree in prosthetics and healthcare administering, which makes custom prosthetics for children with limbs.
When Robert was 2 years old, he performed a toe-to transfer surgery to improve the functionality in his left hand. However, the process did not act as hope. Nevertheless, he went to play many games, learn to play trumpets and develop skills in archery and scars, all with just five fingers on their right hand.
“Putting a positive spin on it, it was difficult. Not impossible, but very, very, very, very difficult,” he said. “Whatever I could throw on me, I had to take it and just kick.”
It included name-giving, insults and exclusion, he said. Robert said he was inspired in his grandfather’s advice: “People with small -minded people hate the dreamers. They cannot see the dream.”
Robert is turning his living experience into the solution of others. Working with Mentor Noam Plot, founder Mentor Noam Plot, the founder of Make Good Nala, Robert has co-produced the first 3D-printed wheelchair and many other adaptive equipment using state-of-the-art 3D printing technology.
Plot said, “We have found that most of our employees who are disabled are the best problems-conversations, the most clever, the most difficult worker I have ever met,” Plot said.
“Being here and doing the right thing at the right time, being in the right place,” Robert said. “It’s beautiful.”
Robert’s mother, Didre, was proudly smiling during a surprising reunion organized by CBS News.
“I want to say that I am very proud of the man you are, the man you have become, and how you give yourself selflessly to others, and you burn the candle on both ends to do it. It just speaks about who you are, and you are really the changes that we want to see in the world.
“This is how you raised me,” Robert said.
David Beganad Every story likes to highlight the heart of the story and will continue to do so, highlighting everyday heroes and proving that his exclusive “CBS Mornings” series, “Beg-Nows America” is good news. Every Monday, get ready for such moments that will make you smile or even shed a tear. Do you have a story about a normal person who is doing something extraordinary for someone else? Email David and his team [email protected]
