Charlotte teen gets 3D printed arm

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Giovanna Dubuc said she's just like any other 14-year-old girl.

"I live my life like a normal human being and I have my sport, my instrument. I do my homework every night," she said.

Giovanna plays the violin, even rock climbs. She said being born without part of her right arm has never stopped her from pursuing her dreams, but now she can do more.

Two weeks ago, Giovanna was retrofitted with a 3D printed bionic arm or Hero Arm.

It has the resemblance of something a superhero would wear. The top of the hand lights up when she changes positions allowing her to do more kid stuff.

"I was eating Cheetos the other day during class, and I grabbed them. And see they are long, I was like, ‘Ahhh.’ It was great. It was really funny because all my friends were like, they were like, ‘This is awesome,’” said Giovanna.

She said she used to ride her bike using one hand and an elbow. Her arm now allows her to put both hands on the handlebars.

"I'm just glad there are people out there that make these things for people like me," she said.

Giovanna's parents said they're surprised by how much more their daughter is able to do now.

"She sent me a picture with a heart with the two, you know, hands. I was just super emotional about it," her mother Jenny Clemente said.

The Hanger Clinic in Charlotte helped make it all possible. They said the Hero Arm "is the first to be controlled by muscle signals in the user’s arm to position the hand in many different grip patterns for various activities."

"I'm so glad that I have this and that its actually in my life. Before it was just kind of a theory, if I get an arm, if this starts happening, then this might be something I can do, this might be something I can do too. It was something that was always so out there," said Giovanna.

Giovanna is the first person in North Carolina to get the Hero Arm. It was also made possible by Inner Wheel, a nonprofit that helps children and young adults with prosthetics.

Cox Media Group