'Superhero' delivers bionic arm -- and confidence -- to Florida boy

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Like in the movie Iron Man, Alex Pring was a super hero -- only he didn't know it at the time. An accident of birth turned out to be this 8-year-old's gateway to greatness.

Born with one arm shorter than the other, Alex struggled to get people to understand exactly what had happened.

"A while ago, people used to say, 'Oh, what happened to your arm? Did you get run over or something?'  And I used to get so disappointed because people kept saying stuff that was wrong, but it was very sad too," Alex told us.

Although some people would see this as a problem, Alex's mom Alyson saw an opportunity to find a solution.

"I found Albert at UCF and he hadn't really worked with anybody yet, and I sent him and email and said this is my idea," she said, referring to Albert Manero

Manero is the president of Limbitless Solutions, a non-profit organization that manufactures advanced personal bionics for people with disabilities.  John Sparkman, vice president of Limbitless, explained what happened next.

"It all started when Alyson Pring got a hold of Albert Menero and wanted an arm built for her son," he said.

And the team at Limbitless jumped at the chance. "Initially he came up with the box arm, is what we call it. It's just a big bulky arm but it did the job," John told us.

From there, the technology took off and other arms followed.

"We tried to give him something a little more aesthetically pleasing so we went with the transformer arm," John said.

And soon, Alex the boy with one arm was transformed to Alex Pring, superhero.

"I loved knowing that I was going to get an arm, finally able to grab two things with my two arms," he said.

But it was another famous superhero that sent his confidence soaring.  The person who presented him with his next high-tech limb was none other than the star of Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr.

"Once I saw who was going to give it to me, I just, it literally blew my mind," Alex recalled.

Video of the event became an internet sensation.  Since then, Alex has become a bionic ambassador of sorts to other kids in need of limbs.

And for the team at Limbitless, this is just the beginning.

"We want to make bionic arms like everyday wear. Like you see kids with glasses, you see kids with bionic arms. It's not any different in the future for us," John added.

LINK: Learn more at Limbitless-Solutions.org