Zayne was the all-star member of Team Zayne, trying out designs and showing off his catching skills throughout the 48 hour Makeathon. After a few design iterations, the team realized that he can fit his right hand into the thumb of a left-handed glove - and the team is adapting the glove to be more comfortable for him and widening the “net” so he has more space to catch the ball. The device is a modification of a standard children sized baseball glove. It is customized so that the netting makes catching a ball easier, with minimal force required from the user to hold the ball in place.
He and his mom traveled from Mobile, Alabama for TOM:Northwestern because Zayne wanted to be able to play baseball like his friends.
Zayne is a huge Cubs fan and has been playing in his local baseball league for a while, he has a powerful arm and great aim, but when it comes to catching a ball, this is where Zayne ran into some challenges. 6-year-old Zayne is one of only 33 people in the world with Ulnar agenesis, He has two fingers on his right hand and three fingers on his left (ulnar agenesis). Zayne also has fusion on both of his elbows and limited bending ability of the second finger of his right hand. His shoulder rotation is uncompromised and he is dexterous with his fingers. His right thumb is shorter compared to the normal length. Zayne is left handed and can use the three fingers on his left hand to grasp small items and perform tasks such as writing on a whiteboard using a marker, sort objects and pull on clothing.
An open-source assistive technology project shared free by TOM: Tikkun Olam Makers.
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