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A Long Island boy achieved superhero status this week. Five-year-old Jordan Marotta from Dix Hills became the youngest-ever recipient of a high-tech bionic arm, customized in ‘Iron Man’ red and gold. Jordan’s mother, Ashley Marotta, shared the exciting moment with The Post.
“He was just walking down the streets of Manhattan, throwing his new hand up in the air screaming ‘Taxi!'” she said. The mother of three took Jordan to Open Bionics’ Park Avenue office on Wednesday, where he was fitted with his “hero” arm. These advanced prosthetics are usually given to older children, but Jordan’s physical development and emotional maturity made him the perfect candidate, according to Daniel Green, a prosthetist at Open Bionics.
Jordan’s prosthetic is designed to attach and detach easily from his left arm, which he and his family call his “nubby.” The arm uses electrodes and sensors to detect muscle contractions, allowing it to mimic natural hand and finger movements. It runs on a 14-hour rechargeable battery and takes about a month to produce.
The real work begins with Jordan adapting to his new bionic arm. “It takes a little bit of work,” Green said. “It’s maybe something the average five-year-old probably wouldn’t be able to do — at least not as quickly as Jordan, anyway.”
Ashley Marotta discovered her son would be born without his hand when she was 20 weeks pregnant. Despite this, Jordan has enjoyed a typically normal childhood, even excelling in Little League and karate. However, he recently began to understand and question his condition more deeply.
“Recently, things have been a little bit more emotional. Jordan started to really understand and know he’s different,” Ashley said. “There were plenty of times where he would sit there and ask me, ‘Mommy, how come my hand is not growing?'”
Jordan’s face lit up when he first used his new arm. His first stop was at his school, where he proudly showed off to his classmates. Afterward, he visited his grandparents, went on a scooter ride, and had fun at Chuck E. Cheese.
“This really makes him feel good. He’s so confident. He was glowing,” Ashley said.
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