http://youtu.be/Ec_Cccjs5AQ
This is the adorable moment a little girl took her first steps on her new prosthetic for the first time – just four months after having her foot amputated.
Willow, one, was diagnosed with fibular hemimelia – a birth defect where part or all the fibular bone is missing – which was discovered before she was born at the 20-week scan.
Parents Charlotte and James Dodding, both 27, were told to ‘wait and see’ how severe the birth defect would be when she was born and decided on the best course of treatment.
Willow arrived in July 2019, at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, weighing 5lb 13oz, and doctors noticed the two remaining bones in her right leg were shorter than her left leg.
Charlotte made the tough decision to have the front part of the tot’s foot amputated in January 2020 – when she was 19 months old – to give her best chance of mobility later in life.
It took surgeons at Manchester Children’s hospital two-and-a-half hours to successfully perform a Syme amputation – which involved removing the front half of her foot and leaving the heel pad.
Despite the difficultly Willow has faced, the brave tot hit all her milestones – Charlotte claimed she was even crawling and walking earlier than expected.
The proud parents captured the first time the tot used her custom-made prosthetic leg – that was designed with the floral material from a top that she wore as a baby by Preston Specialist Mobility Rehabilitation Centre.
Charlotte, a stay at home mum and special support assistant, from Blackpool, Lancashire, said: “We’re so proud of Willow.
“She so determined and resilient – nothing fazes her.
“It was a tough decision to choose to amputate her leg, but we knew it was the best option.
“She’s already walking confidently on the new prosthetic.
“We’re so proud of her.”
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