GLASGOW, Ky. (WDRB) -- Some of the best friendships form over laughter. Jackson Farmer learned that early in life.
"First year we met, he was a kindergartener, and he cracked a joke at me," the boy's teacher, Scott Johnson, recalled.
The boy recited it again to WDRB: "Hey, do you need an extra hand?"
"All of the sudden, he pulled off his silicone hand, and he started to hand it to me," Johnson said with a smile.
The 9-year-old was born without his right hand, and the substitute he was using wasn't functional.
Johnson's job entails being an expert in 3D Printers. He's a STEAM teacher.
"I just started getting more curious and wondering if there was something that we could make here in the lab that he could use in real life," Johnson said.
He worked with models and machines for a year before coming up with a prototype.
"His mom and Jackson, they were very excited, and they were like let's do this," Johnson remembered.
"I was like, yay! Let's go!" Farmer said. "Everybody wants to give me fist bumps, or high fives."
The fully functioning hand allows for daily tasks that were impossible before.
"Picking up stuff with my right hand," Farmer said. "It just makes me feel like, yay I get to do stuff on my own."
Boys will be boys, so breaks and damage are part of the plan. The repairs happening here at the Glasgow school.
"I have extra palms," said Johnson. "We laugh now, he's gone through about three of these so far."
When WDRB's Chris Sutter met the two, the 9-year-old broke the thumb on the 3D printed hand, which turned into a learning moment.
"In the end, Jackson will be able to do all this work without me," said Johnson.
A helping hand from a caring, teacher and friend, that will make Jackson Farmer's life better forever.
"Good teacher," he said about Johnson.
The parts for the 3D printed hand total around $20. If Jackson were to get a prosthetic, it could cost his family thousands and thousands of dollars.
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