A young British girl has had her leg amputated and re-attached backwards so her ankle can eventually replace the leg’s original knee following a struggle with bone cancer.
Amelia Eldred, who was diagnosed with the cancer last year, kept a brave face as she spoke about her leg, flexing the foot all the way to her face.
“When I look in the mirror it looks strange and then when I look at it face to face it looks normal,” Eldred, 7, told Reuters.
The rotationplasty procedure was carried out at the Royal Orthopedic Hospital in Birmingham. Doctors hope the procedure will allow the young girl to walk in the future by using her ankle as a knee joint with the aid of a prosthetic limb.
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“If she hadn’t had this other procedure she’d have had to have an amputation just below the hip joint and that would have been very difficult for her to wear a prosthesis and it would have been very difficult for her to have a good level of mobility,” Royal Orthopaedic Hospital consultant Lee Jeys said. “But now she has a good knee joint and a good hip joint.”
Fundraisers have been set up for the girl to develop the right prosthetic as she hopes she’ll eventually be able to do her favourite activities, including dancing.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by Amelia’s mother, Michelle Eldred, Amelia will eventually need prosthetic activity blades, each at a cost of £5,000 (or C$8,852.50).
“This way she’ll then be able to get a prosthetic leg and be able to do all the things she used to love to do, all your sports and your dancing,” Michelle Eldred said. “Otherwise, with a full leg amputation, it was unlikely she’d be able to get a prosthetic or have a good range of movement.”
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