‘Star Wars’ buff sports Stormtrooper hand

Jacob Taggart likes Star Wars: the costumes, the lightsabers, the battles.

He’s a stereotypical kindergartner. Squirmy. A little shy.

But unlike most 5-year-olds, he’s lived his life with specific restrictions. He can’t join his friends on the monkey bars. Or count to 10 on his fingers. Because only five of them were fully formed.

With only part of his thumb, a bit of his first finger, no middle finger and “two little nubs” on the right hand, Jacob, who lives in north Phoenix, was starting to fall behind in kindergarten, his grandmother Linda Taggart said.

Because he is right-handed, he struggled to write and couldn’t fully participate in activities such as finger painting.

Perhaps that’s why Jacob feels such a kinship with Star Wars.

After all, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were missing hands or limbs. Many of the characters, including Jacob’s favorite — the Stormtroopers — wore suits that resembled contemporary prostheses.

Jacob’s life changed Friday when a non-profit organization gifted him a mechanical prosthetic arm. The pre-Christmas present left the 5-year-old speechless, in awe of his new, 100% real — but still fantastic-looking — white and black hand.

In September, the MORE Foundation announced a program that would use 3D printing technology to create low-cost, high-quality prosthetic hands for children.

The mechanical device would give children the ability to grip, hold and throw objects. It would also be highly customizable.

Marc Jacofsky, the organization’s executive director, contacted the Taggart family after one of Jacob’s therapists referred him to the program.

“We didn’t think it was reality,” Linda said. “We never thought it’d happen this soon. We’re just really excited.”

With this prosthetic hand, Jacob will be able to play baseball and ride his bike — two activities his grandma said he was dying to do. He’ll be able to drink water bottles and write with his dominant right hand.

The organization, which conducts musculoskeletal and orthopedics research and provides medical education training in the community, took the 3D printing a step further, customizing Jacob’s hand so it looked like a Stormtrooper.

“Kids want a hand that says something about who they are, that kind of displays their personality,” Jacofsky said.

SEAN LOGAN/THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC Jacob Taggart tests his prosthetic hand.