Hailey Dawson is an 8-year-old from Henderson, Nevada. Born with Poland syndrome, three fingers on her right hand never developed. The inspirational little girl has never let that stop her, though. As baseball fans, her and her big brother Zach (he's about 4 years older than Hailey) hatched a scheme - for Hailey to throw a first pitch at every MLB park. This past Sunday, she checked off her final park, throwing out the first pitch for the Angels at their stadium in Anaheim, CA.
Hailey had a blast on her personal quest. After each first pitch, she would happily bust out a dance - usually the dab. This last one was no exception ... aside from being slightly more epic. Hailey really put her all into this last happy dance, and for good reason! By achieving her personal goal she also casually set a world record. Also, the Angels won that game. We're not saying Hailey's extra-oomphy dab dance was magic or anything, but evidence is evidence.
All told, her mission took over three years to complete and was chronicled across social media.
The idea is to help raise awareness for kids who, like Hailey, use prosthetic devices. Prosthetic devices can be expensive and need to be routinely maintained. This can be especially costly for kids since their bodies grow and change so rapidly. Hailey and her family want to do their part to help make sure as many people as possible can access the devices they need, so they're working to raise funds for UNLV. The university's students and faculty have are responsible for creating Hailey's much-needed hands. Her quest to get to 30 was also assisted by United Airlines who pitched in with travel arrangements.
There were a lot of hands - and a lot of help - involved in this mission.
Here’s a sneak peek at the hand our @unlv students are finishing for @haileys_hand ! She joins the @angels on Sunda… https://t.co/8iyqmYPZQQ— UNLV Engineering (@UNLV Engineering) 1536790011.0
The #JourneyTo30 is officially complete! From all of us at United, congrats, @haileys_hand! #SeeYouBackOnboardSoon https://t.co/x0NuYeVECK— United Airlines (@United Airlines) 1537132275.0
Team @haileys_hand is representing @Angels Stadium today! Today’s pitch marks the last in her “Journey to 30” using… https://t.co/8Pa9RCyc6g— UNLV Engineering (@UNLV Engineering) 1537126696.0
Now that she's done, Twitter is celebrating her victory just as hard as she did! Also her dab. Twitter is REALLY into that dab.
@MLB @haileys_hand Congratulations, @haileys_hand! @JoseAltuve27 wanted to give you a special shoutout. Hope to s… https://t.co/DSrkjgQwAU— Houston Astros (@Houston Astros) 1537219369.0
@united @haileys_hand The best part was the wind up and delivery of that dab!— FindMyNucleus (@FindMyNucleus) 1537243886.0
@BleacherReport @haileys_hand Great story and really inspiring as to how strong the human spirit can be your a grea… https://t.co/oYVp8NxiMt— Craig/Rock/Rocky (@Craig/Rock/Rocky) 1537258338.0
@MLB @haileys_hand Now that was an enthusiastic dab!— Karen Steimle (@Karen Steimle) 1537144838.0
@MLB @haileys_hand Great job @haileys_hand & @UNLVEngineering!— Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@Las Vegas Locally 🌴) 1537137718.0
@MLB Congrats on your amazing #JourneyTo30, @haileys_hand! We hope to see you again soon! 🇨🇦 https://t.co/LXEoSlUcHl— Toronto Blue Jays (@Toronto Blue Jays) 1537214888.0
@GMA @ABonTV Congrats @haileys_hand and @UNLVEngineering! What a journey, thank you for lifting our spirits and in… https://t.co/XcmZgHvyRY— Adam Thomas (@Adam Thomas) 1537204168.0
@united @haileys_hand That the cutest dab ever?— Aamir (@Aamir) 1537256694.0
Between pitching at all 30 parks, being a great ambassador for UNLV, and having the worlds first internet-approved dab, we've got to say - Hailey might be having the best week ever right now.
H/T: ABC, YouTube, Twitter, Yahoo Sports