A letter from a reader

I receive a very meaningful email from a woman and I wanted to share. I know that making a decision for your child is so difficult and any information I hope I can provide as much information as possible to help parents be informed. I don't usually look at my blog's 'stats' but checked it out today and saw that 356 people viewed the Fibular Hemimelia information page in just one day! I am thankful for this responsibility I have to share information with you, and I take it very seriously. I have received a couple of other emails similar to this one, but this brave woman's really stood out to me. Thank you to her for allowing me to share her experience.




Hello!  I just wanted to tell you that I was born with this condition as was your Daughter.  I knew my leg was shorter and had some issues but had never heard of this condition when I started seeing a new specialist for problems with my ankle.  My parents were given the option to amputate my leg when I was a small child or do the elongation surgery. They chose the elongation surgery. I can understand why my parents made that decision – no one wants their child to have a leg amputated.   And I know that had to be a very hard decision for you and your husband to come to.  I wish my parents would have had the courage do make the decision you made for your daughter.  Even after the surgeries my right leg is 2” shorter than my left leg, I am missing a toe on my right foot, my ankle and foot are deformed.   And it’s a never ending saga – and there are numerous things that are hard for me to do  - walk very far, walk over uneven ground, ect.

School Lesson

This week, like last year, I went into Anna's Pre-K class to do a lesson on differences, and to educate the kids on Anna's prosthetic leg. It went so well, and I was so proud of Anna for getting up and telling the kids about her leg. She was so brave and acted like such a big girl.  Over the years I've coached/modeled for her different things she can say when people ask her questions, and now she is completely comfortable answering questions and talking about it. I'm so proud of her.

If you want to read more about the lesson I did, check out this post from last year.