A little cheerleader was able to get into the spirit thanks to the Limbitless Solutions team from the University of Central Florida.
Ten-year-old Julianna Linton was missing her left arm above the elbow due to a congenital amputation caused by amniotic band syndrome.
Linton does competitive cheerleading and tumbled with one-handed cartwheels. She traveled to UCF with her family from Houston, Texas.
Linton is the fifteenth child to be gifted a 3-D printed arm from the team. The arms are free to families and community partners help deliver the bionics.
“We want children to know, especially girls, that there are no limits,” founder Albert Manero said in a press release. “We want them to dream big and then go after it. That’s really important. You can be smart, beautiful and strong and do it all here at UCF.”
The UCF cheerleading team helped deliver her arm.
“They led Julianna on a campus tour that concluded at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, home to eight members of the cheerleading squad. Several of the cheerleaders are pursuing mechanical, civil, aerospace and computer science degrees,” the release stated.
Knightro delivered the arm in a box with two pom-poms.
“We are so honored to be part of this day,” head cheer coach Linda Gooch said in the release. “Limbitless Solutions is amazing and we couldn’t wait for today to see Julianna, show her a little bit of our school pride and have her share her talents with us. I can’t wait to get her out on the field.”
An exclusive cheer clinic for Linton was held in Bright House Networks Stadium after she got her arm where she did cartwheels and even a handstand.
“My favorite part was getting the arm today,” Linton said in the release. “I think It will help me with my cheering. I love to fly.”
“If there are 10,000 things someone with two arms can do, Julianna can already do 9,900,” Clark Linton said in the release. “We’ve always focused on what she can do, not what she can’t. I think this new arm will give her the opportunity to do even more. The technology is advancing so rapidly, Julianna has a chance to grow with the technology that may help her later on in life and won’t limit her career opportunities.”
Limbitless Solutions has taken off since they delivered their first arm in 2014, an Iron Man arm to Alex Pring. Over 500 families have applied for bionic arms.
“As a nonprofit we rely on the community to be able to continue our work,” Manero said in the release. “There is such a big need. We had no idea when we started what kind of need exists. We want to help as many children as possible so they can grow up and know there are no limits.”
Photo credit: Nick Russett
