Robert Downey Jr. recently appeared in a video where he delivered a 3D printed bionic Iron Man arm to a 7-year-old who doesn’t have an arm. Alex Pring was surprised by his meeting with Downey’s character from Iron Man, Tony Stark because he was under the impression that he was visiting Atlanta for a routine appointment.
Alyson Pring, Alex’s mother told CNN that “He didn’t question it much, so we kind of just went with it. Afterward, I asked, ‘Why were you so quiet?’ He said, ‘I was freaking out!’ “
Alex was unfortunately the victim of bullying due to the fact that he was different, so UCF student Albert Manero had an idea that would help to make his prosthetic arm more fashionable.
“Whenever people saw him, they’d say, ‘What’s wrong with your arm? Now it’s, ‘Your arm is amazing, you’re so cool … it helps educate people to maybe think twice before saying something like, ‘Why are you like that’?” Alyson Pring said.
Downey also invited Alex to return to Atlanta this summer so he can check out the filming of Downey’s upcoming movie, Captain America.
After the meeting, Downey made the following post to his Facebook page:
Had the absolute privilege of presenting a brand spanking new 3D-printed bionic Iron Man arm to Alex, the most dapper 7-year-old I’ve ever met.
Special thanks to Albert Manero, OneNote, and #CollectiveProject for their work making artificial limbs like this more affordable for families with kids who want to show the playground how badass they are. Check out http://www.facebook.com/LimbitlessSolutionsto learn more about this incredible project. #goodcause
John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.
