Meet Kobi, the two-year-old Everton fan who proudly sports a 3D-printed arm emblazoned with his team's logos
Kobi Sadler was born without his right forearm and hand
Last month he was given one of the world's smallest 3D printed arms
The arm, which features blue and white components and the Everton logo, took 20 hours to print and two hours to build
By Shivali Best For Mailonline
Published: 14:45 EDT, 4 November 2016 | Updated: 15:15 EDT, 4 November 2016
Meet the adorable Everton fan who proudly sports a 3D-printed arm emblazoned with the logos of his favourite football team.
Kobi Sadler, two, from Moreton, Merseyside, was born without his right forearm and hand due to a rare blood flow issue affecting one in only 26,000 babies.
A month ago he was given a custom-made 3D printed arm - believed to be one of the smallest ever made.
Kobi is pictured with and without his prosthetic arm, which has received thousands of views and comments from Everton fans on social media
Kobi's mum Kelly Sadler, 35, and dad Mike Sadler, 38, shared a photo of their son's blue and white prosthetic on social media and were amazed when they received support from fans across the world.
Postwoman Kelly, who is also mum to Kobi's big sister Bailee, five, said: 'At the time I was told about Kobi's arm I was shocked because I was worried it was something I'd done.
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'But it was just one of those things - something blocked the blood flow to his arm.
'It happens to one in 26,000 babies and we were that one.
'When I got home I had a little cry, but then I thought I needed to be proactive. So I started to research what we could do to help him.
Kobi and his mum, Kelly, were invited to Everton to meet two of the team's players - Phil Jagielka (pictured right) and Ramiro Funes Mori (pictured left)
Kobi Sadler, two, from Moreton, Merseyside, was born without his right forearm and hand due to a rare blood flow issue affecting one in only 26,000 babies. A month ago he was given a state-of-the-art custom-made 3D printed arm - believed to be one of the smallest ever made
'I learned all about 3D printed arms for kids through a charity called Enable and made provisional enquiries with them about what we could do before he was even born.
'The design on the arm is great, it makes prosthetics cool.
'You can do them with all different designs, so and as he gets older he can decide on whatever design he wants.
'He's fine without the arm too, because he's never known anything different - it's just normal for him.'
Kobi has been wearing his royal blue-and-white 3D arm since last month as before then he would have been too young to understand what it was.
On Kobi's visit to Eveton club, he met several players, including Everton defender and Wales football captain, Ashley Williams
HOW THE ARM WORKS
The arm was created for Kobi by Kelly and Mike's close friend Greg Lynch, 31, from Reading, after the family met Greg and his wife Tori through missing limb charity, Reach.
Greg had a free template for a 3D printed arm designed by Team Unlimbited which he got from the charity Open Source.
Various designs are available freely on the internet, and all Greg needed was the materials and a 3D printer to print the arm.
For the materials, 3D printed plastic parts work like bones and a rubber coating acts as the skin.
Fishing line is recommended for use as tendons.
Elastic bands attached to the fingers enable them to move.
Moleskin padding inside the cuff, and the cuff and forearm are stuck together using velcro.
The arm, which features blue and white components and the Everton logo, took 20 hours to print and two hours to build.
It was created for Kobi by Kelly and Mike's close friend Greg Lynch, 31, from Reading, after the family met Greg and his wife Tori through missing limb charity, Reach.
Kelly said she was ecstatic when Greg offered to make her two-year-old a 3D printed arm just like one he had created for his own son Oakley.
Mike's social media post about Kobi's Everton-themed arm received thousands of views and comments from fans - and even prompted a special day out.
It was a proud moment for Kelly, who found out Kobi would be born without his right forearm and scan during her 20-week pregnancy scan.
Kelly said: 'Through Reach I got in touch with a whole network of parents with children, and even some pregnant mums like me, it was really good talking to them.
'Tori and Greg's son has a very similar limb deficiency to Kobi, and he offered to make one for him as he'd done for his own son.
Kobi and his father (left) had their picture taken in front of the statue of Dixie Dean (left). Kobi kept a firm eye on the pitch (right)
His mother, Kelly, said: 'He's fine without the arm too, because he's never known anything different - it's just normal for him'
Kobi is pictured with his mother, Kelly, who was ecstatic when a friend, Greg, offered to make Kobi a 3D-printed arm
Kobi's mum Kelly Sadler, 35, and dad Mike Sadler, 38, shared a photo of their son's blue and white prosthetic on social media and were amazed when they received support from fans across the world
'He did it completely free of charge, he said that we're friends for life. He had a free template for a 3D printed arm designed by Team Unlimbited which he got from the charity Open Source.
'You can do them with different designs, so he said he would do one in Everton colours, and then I decorated it with logos all over for him.
'As Kobi gets older he can decide on whatever design he wants.
'This is so that he can get used to prosthetics for if he chooses to have one in the future.
'Kobi did really well on his first trip to Goodison.
'I've printed out all the comments we've had on social media so that Kobi can read them when he's older - we can't thank Everton and the fans enough.'
The Sadlers are determined nothing will hold Kobi back as he grows up, adopting the family motto, 'there is nothing we can't do.'
And Kelly even hopes to save for her own 3D printer to help other children with missing limbs.
Kelly said: 'We have books about being different and how awesome that is, and when we read them together Kobi always says, "look Mummy, he has a little arm like me".
Kobi and his parents, Mike and Kelly, were contacted by Everton to ensure Kobi's first experience at Goodison Park was one he would never forget
The Sadlers are determined nothing will hold Kobi back as he grows up, adopting the family motto, 'there is nothing we can't do'
'When we're out at places like the soft-play centre, other kids follow him around and ask, "why hasn't he got an arm?"
'His sister Bailee is really good with it, though, she explains to them, "it didn't grow in mummy's tummy." She looks out for him and is very informative.
'We're saving up for our own 3D printer as they are quite expensive, and I thought when we have one we might be able to help other kiddies in the area with missing limbs too.'
A spokesman for Everton Football Club said: 'When we saw the Facebook post from Kobi's parents and the inspirational story about his 3D arm, we wanted to ensure Kobi's first experience at Goodison Park was one he would never forget.
'We invited Kobi and his parents to Goodison to meet the players, enjoy a behind the scenes tour and give such a lovely young man the chance to kick a ball on the hallowed turf at Goodison Park.
'Evertonians are rightly proud of the club and Kobi having the club's crest on his 3D arm shows how passionate he and his family are about Everton.
'But, more importantly, we were keen to help in some small way to spread the positive message of Kobi's story and the way he and his family have dealt with the challenges he has faced.
'Hopefully the Sadler family have some amazing memories to take away from the day and we look forward to welcoming them back to Goodison Park in the near future.'
www.teamunlimbit...
Two-year-old Everton fan sports a 3D-printed arm emblazoned with his team's logos