BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Helping those who are helping others, 12-year-old Dylan Leong from East Amherst is using his 3D printer to create a comfortable tool for frontline workers.
The seventh-grader at St. Mary's in Swormville is working to become an Eagle Scout.
One day, he hopes to be an engineer, but for right now, he's on a mission to solve a problem for health care workers.
Taking designs online and making them his own, Dylan started creating his "716 Ear Savers" for nurses to wear while caring for patients.
The device holds the string of masks to give nurse's ears a break.
"This a just a small little piece of plastic that can save stress and headaches for social workers and health care workers," Leong said.
Just a small piece can make a big difference.
Dylan has made 400 ear savers and has donated 250 of them to local hospitals.
"It helps us take better care of our patients because we are not thinking about adjusting our masks," said Sara Nabozny, a registered nurse at Oishei Children's Hospital.
She says wearing a mask ten to 12 hours a shift caused irritation behind her ears.
But by using Dylan's ear savers everyday, her problem was solved.
"It makes my day so much easier, and we really appreciate it everyone in the healthcare community," Nabozny said.
It takes about five hours to print five of them.
Dylan has five different prints with many colors.
Some of them say "Stay Strong" and "Hero at work," and there's even one specifically for pony tails.
He used his own money to order another 3D printer to ramp up production.
"It just makes me feel good inside. It's hard to explain," Leong said.
Allowance money only lasts for so long, so if you'd like to donate to Dylan so he can get more supplies to make his Ear Savers you can email him at 716earsavers@gmail.com and his Venmo username is wzdzz4.
