Teen Born With One Arm Creates Working Prosthetic Out of LEGO — Wins Guinness Record and Now He’s Building Them for Kids Like Him

There are people in this world that has been born with unfortunate conditions, but did not stop them from becoming someone who not only can help themselves, but others too. That is the story of David Aguilar, who was born with one Arm yet was able to help kids like him.

Image Credits: Surprising an 8-year-old with a new LEGO® arm – Guinness World Records | Guinness World Records

Who Is David Aguilar?

David Aguilar is a young inventor from Andorra who was born one only one forearm because of a birth condition called Poland Syndrome. It is characterized by the underdevelopment or lack of chest muscles on one side of the body, which also affects different parts, like hands or arms.

David is someone who liked playing with LEGO as a kid, so when he was just around nine years old, he was able to learn to create a prosthetic arm made of just LEGO blocks.

At the age of 19, he was awarded by the Guinness World Records for becoming the first person to create a prosthetic arm from LEGO pieces. Some people also think that he looks so cool with the LEGO arms, as he reminded them of their favorite hero or comic book characters.

Read more: Guinness World Records

How Does the LEGO Prosthetic Arm Work?

David’s prosthetic arms, named MK-I through MK-V, began with a simple combination of LEGO blocks until it progresses to have moving elbows, fingers and different motors with sensors.

If you are not familiar with LEGO pieces, it simply looks like a building block used in houses, where you can attach them to form a structure. However, if you combine these blocks with more complicated pieces that allows them to be connected by more than just attaching the matching parts, they become something that you can build anything you can imagine with.

His latest model, the MK-V, includes a programmable control unit that allows the user to move the LEGO arm more naturally. This is both a testimony to how creativity, combined with the right materials to exercise that creativeness, can have limitless potential.

Helping Others with LEGO Prosthetics

Surprising an 8-year-old with a new LEGO® arm - Guinness World Records

David did not just stop at making himself look like a superhero with those prosthetic arms made with LEGO. He also helped other kids just like him. At one instance, discussed in the video above, David helped an eight-year-old boy named Beknur, who was born without arms.

Using a few dollars’ worth of LEGO, David was able to create a prosthetic arm for this kid to be able to do some normal everyday tasks, like picking up objects. This highlights just show how kindness can change the life of anyone, and how cheap prosthetic arms can be.

What Can We Learn from Him?

Do not give up, and do not let your circumstances bring you down or limit you from achieving your dreams. That might be a hard thing to say or accept, but David is an example of how kindness, creativity, and ingenuity can inspire others to overcome challenges.

By turning his passion and love for LEGOs, he was able to help people just like him, and will continue with his journey forward with this exact goal in mind. We hope there could be a lot more people with his mindset and determination, with or without any conditions.

Building a Prosthetic Arm With Lego

Author's Final Thoughts

David Aguilar was born without a right forearm, but he built a life-changing invention not only for himself for a lot more people who were born or suffered with the same condition as him. More than that, he was able to show just how powerful creativity, determination, and compassion can be, no matter who you are.

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