As Dulce Jaimes searched for the words to express what having a second arm means to her, she shied up, wiggled in her chair and looked to the sky.
But her glowing smile said it all.
Her look told Sunshine Elementary teacher Eric Demeri his 40 hours of work of designing a 3D printout of a mechanical arm during spring break was worth it.
And now Shriners Hospital in Tampa is inviting Dulce and her mom Ana Bustos to visit in June, though Bustos isn't sure what will take place.
“It’s absolutely life-changing,” Lee County Superintendent Greg Adkins said. “The neat thing about having a great teacher like Mr. Demeri is to recognize a kids’ potential and do something like that.”
The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools honored Dulce Jaimes, 9, and Eric Demeri as well as a number of other students and teachers Friday morning as part of its 27th Annual Partners in Education – State of Our Schools Breakfast.
The Peanuts-themed program included Foundation for Lee County Public Schools president and CEO Marshall Bower dressing up as Snoopy and Charlie Brown and Garry Griffin, foundation board chair, as Linus.
Dulce and her teacher received a standing ovation during the breakfast. Demeri, who has taught at the school for 10 years, has a fascination with 3D.
He started a 3D printers club at the Lehigh elementary school. He printed a 3D heart with its different chambers to show fifth-grade students how blood enters and exits. He also is designing a finger for another teacher.
In November, when a student asked if he could make a pencil holder for a teacher, an idea popped into his head: “I wonder if I could print an arm?”
Demeri had known Dulce – which means sweet in Spanish – for four years. “I see him every morning,” she said.
Dulce’s arm ends near the elbow after it stopped developing in her mom’s womb. Ana Bustos thinks it’s similar to the amniotic band syndrome that former Central Florida football star and Seattle Seahawks draft pick Shaquem Griffin has.
Online research showed Demeri other mechanical arms that have been made. He found coding for programming a 3D arm. After getting the size he needed, Demeri made test prints.
During spring break, he spent 40 hours on developing the arm. The forearm took the longest – five hours – to print. Each part of the arm is individually printed.
“It was really getting frustrating,” said Demeri, who wondered if he’d meet his self-imposed deadline of the end of spring break. “There were only two days left.”
About three-fourths through the project, Demeri knew he’d finish.
On March 28, he surprised Dulce when he brought her to the front of the third-grade class and presented her with a surprise bag. Dulce opened a purple wrap, which showed her purple arm. She smiled, then dived into her mother’s arms.
“She only said, ‘Mommy,’ “ Bustos said. “I was left speechless as well. I didn’t expect it from a teacher. I know it meant a lot to her.”
With tears streaming down her eyes, Dulce said, “Thank you Mr. Demeri.”
“It’s a good feeling, good feeling,” he said.
Dulce can pick up her purse, a water bottle and a giant pencil with the new hand. She also can hug her brother Anthony Gonzalez.
“We play hockey outside and I practiced so I put my arm down here to hold the stick,” she said.
Dulce provides Demeri with engineering tips. Parts have needed to be reprinted as they wear out. She constantly needs rubber bands for the arms and new finger grips.
“They slid off and they don’t work anymore,” she said.
In April, Shriners officials visited Demeri. On June 13, Dulce and her mom will go up to the Shriners.
“I don’t know what to expect,” she said. “There are so many emotions running through me.”