Years after surviving a potentially fatal car accident, Rashad Glover is fulfilling a promise he made to himself to help disabled persons by constructing new multi-purpose 3D printed prosthetic arms.
Glover remembers in vivid detail how he nearly lost his life in Ohio in 2010. He said his car was struck by a semi-truck that slid on a patch of ice. When he exited his vehicle to exchange information, he was struck by a car which broke both of his arms and one of his legs. Today, he’s fully recovered and views the incident as a message from God.
“Honestly, without a doubt in my mind I believe God wanted me to come back to Chicago and be with my family and work with the disabled like I said I would,” said Glover. “God knew I was avoiding it. I was intimidated; I was scared, I never took the leap and the more software and equipment I got, the more guilty I became.”
Glover had overcome a lot before that fateful day in the Buckeye State. Years prior to the car accident, a 17-year-old Glover, who was living on his own and working two jobs at the time, befriended a young man with cerebral palsy who had never played video games before. Glover said he remembers thinking if he could help his friend play, he would. That idea would ultimately be the catalyst that would change Glover’s life.
“I felt bad, I was taking electronics classes at the time, he had a joystick on his wheelchair, he had some mobility in his I believe right hand and I was like that’s everything he needs for video games so I suggested a glove or a device so he could play with us… but it didn’t exist at the time,” said Glover.
Glover, who originally didn’t intend on pursuing a college degree, received tuition support to attend Central State University after his mentors, Michelle Harton and her husband Dr. Austin V. Harton, decided to intervene. While at CSU he majored in industrial technology and business. He said his background in 3D printing can be traced back to an internship he had at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 2002 where he worked in their materials laboratory while attending CSU.
Currently, Glover works as a freelance industrial designer, web developer and as a substitute teacher. He said when he was approached by his church, New Deliverance Missionary Baptist Church, 11200 S. State St., about constructing prosthetic arms, he opted to proceed after prayer and meditation. The materials necessary to create the arms are raised through donations through the church, according to Glover. He said the planning stage has been in the works for a while.
“I’m doing this because I said I was going to do this and this is my way to give back to the community that made me. I made it here off donations; I made it here off people helping me,” said Glover.
In a continued effort to give back, Glover with the “essential” contributions from Rev. Marty Gool and First Lady Lynnise Gool at his church launched his non-profit organization Global Glover Technology (GGT). The prospective programs of GGT will include but are not limited to an after school program where he intends to produce a minimum of five prosthetic arms a month (including the 2 per month he intends to make himself). He said all the prosthetics will be given free of charge although they cost $250-300 to create. He has previously drafted a grant proposal where he was sought $300,000 – $3,000,000 over a five year span with the goal of developing GGT into a national program.
At this point Glover said he has created two prosthetic arms for people with more on the way.
For more information about the prosthetic arm program or Global Glover Technology (GGT), visit Glover’s Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/rashadglover/ or www.globalglover.com or www.rashardglover.com.
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