Coronavirus
How a 7-year-old Lenexa boy is helping KC — and beyond — during the COVID-19 pandemic
Ashley Stimac had a problem ... and her 7-year-old son figured out a way to help.
Stimac, a nurse at St. Luke’s South Hospital in Overland Park, had been required in recent weeks to wear a mask. At the end of her long shift, though, she’d returned home with irritation where the straps had rubbed behind her ears. A few times, her mask fell off completely.
“Not much protection there,” Stimac said, “when I’m getting exposed that way.”
Ethan Stimac, with help from his dad, Tyler, quickly put his ingenuity to work.
The two Googled, schemed and designed their own creation, with the hopes of making things better.
Their handiwork now is being donated throughout the Kansas City area — and beyond — as the family works to assist those dealing with the recent Coronavirus outbreak.
Using a 3D printer, Ethan has created KC-themed mask bands, which have the purpose of securing protective gear in place while also keeping straps off the back of the ear entirely.
Ethan’s fascination with 3D printing began when one was purchased at his grade school. Ethan immediately showed an interest in it, and Tyler Stimac — he knew nothing about the printers — made the decision to purchase one off Amazon for about $400 with child-friendly software included.
“It was probably the greatest gift that he’s ever received,” he said. “The first thing that we printed was this little toy boat, and he and I both sat there and just watched this thing print, layer by layer, for 30 minutes, just in total awe of how it works.”
Since then, Ethan has printed off birthday gifts for his friends. He’s designed show-and-tell toys, and also has randomly given out concoctions to kids in his class.
These mask bands, though, have special meaning. Tyler and Ethan found a shared basic design for the buckle-type items online, changing their look to make them a little longer before they positioned a heart and “KC” on the back.
“I’d say within a few minutes,” Tyler said, “we were printing.”
Since then, their office accessory has rarely stopped.
The original idea was for Ashley to share a few mask bands with co-workers. That changed after she shared a post of what Ethan had done on Facebook, which generated an overwhelming amount of comments and likes.
From there, Ashley posted to a KC nurses’ Facebook page, asking if any area people requiring masks would be interested in receiving bands.
The response was overwhelming. Ashley and Tyler heard from people in Brooklyn, New York and Orlando, Florida. They returned so many messages on Facebook — more than 400 — that the site temporarily flagged them as spammers, warning their account was about to be shut down.
Ethan’s printer, which has produced about 200 of the bands so far, will probably need to make more than 1,000 based on the demand. At this point, he can print off about 20 per hour.
In the meantime, Ashley and Tyler are working to get the mask bands where they need to go. On Friday, they loaded up in Tyler’s Ford F-150 — along with 11-month-old son Grayson — and dropped off bands in Independence and downtown Kansas City while also going to KU Hospital and Children’s Mercy.
“It feels good,” Ashley said. “It’s something our family loves to do is donate to others.”
The Lenexa-based Stimacs also are paying out of pocket to ship bands to those who requested them — the ones to New York and Florida will go out Monday — while reiterating to interested folks online that there is no charge. The family did set up a Venmo account for anyone who insisted on donating, with the hope that all funds there could go toward the purchase of a 3D printer either for Children’s Mercy or a local school.
Tyler has shared his own design with others online that have requested it. He’s also purchased new material for bands, with one $30 roll expected to go a long way toward future production.
Ashley has been touched by some of the personal stories. One woman wanted a mask band for her mother-in-law, who requires an oxygen machine while needing a tool to take pressure off her ears.
There’s also a huge group that has responded from the local medical community.
“Several of my friends are physician assistants in the ER, and they’ve encountered a lot,” Ashley said. “They truly have issues with these masks.”
It’s part of the reason why Stimacs have continued to help others, while also spreading their son’s “huge heart,” Ashley said, a few bands at a time.
“He gets a tremendous amount of joy,” Tyler said, “being able to print stuff and give it to people and make them happy.”
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