Family Fridays #3

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Family Fridays

Hi Everyone! It’s week three of Family Fridays and I hope you and your loved ones are all safe and well. Here’s how things stand in Alabama as of last evening: there are 2,838 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 78 reported deaths. That’s an increase of 1,577 confirmed cases and more double the amount of deaths than the same time last week. Last Saturday, Governor Kay Ivey finally issued a stay at home order. I haven’t been out much except for my daily walks, but it looks like people are being pretty good about following it, at least in our city. There are more and more people wearing masks as well, which is a welcome sight. I’ve used my homemade “ninja” t-shirt mask to my apartment’s laundry room and on a stealth mission across the street to Dollar General to get some toilet paper. I think it worked(?) Fingers crossed! So, that’s how things are in my neck of the woods. How are all of you?

Today’s positivity is the story of how one person can impact so many lives.

The woman with the lovely smile is librarian Madiha Choksi. A research technologist at the Columbia University Libraries, she received an email from Dr. Pierre Elias, a fellow at Columbia, detailing the lack of PPE at New York Presbyterian Hospital. After receiving some links from him containing open source 3D print face shields, the intrepid librarian researched various models and with the blessing of her bosses, brought two 3D printers back to her apartment where she was working remotely and got to work. Two days after his initial plea for help, Choksi presented Dr. Elias with five face shields. He asked if there was any way to make 1,000.

After reaching out on social media, Choksi acquired the assistance of two 3D printing companies, MakerBot, and Tangible Creative, to print more visors. Columbia Libraries are providing the other materials needed and her colleagues and volunteers started to assemble the desperately needed face shields. Having moved from her apartment to a bigger space where the face shields can be assembled more quickly through an assembly line, more than 7,500 face shields have now been made.

Members of the CMR team packing 3D parts.

Staff at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital receiving face shields.

If you or someone you know work for a hospital that needs face shields, please visit CMR’s site at:

http://www.covidmakerresponse.com