Schoolgirl who had her leg amputated aged nine defies the odds to become a ballerina after surgeons attach her foot to her stump
Gabi Shull, 14, uses a custom-made pointe foot to dance competitively after losing part of her leg to cancer
A BALLERINA who had her leg amputated after she developed a rare form of bone cancer has defied all odds to dance again.
Gabi Shull was just nine when she was diagnosed with osteocarcoma in her knee, with the young girl and her family forced to confront the terrifying reality that her leg would have to be amputated.
Despite being offered several potential treatments and amputations, the young girl settled on the rare rotationplasty surgery.
The procedure meant the doctors needed to take out the area around her knee before twisting her lower leg and foot 180 degrees backwards, finally reattaching the limb to her upper thigh.
The surgery means the young girl’s ankle now acts as her knee joint – whenever she points her foot, her prosthesis straightens and whenever she flexes her foot, it bends.
Her mother Debbie said the family had discussed the options with Gabi before going through with the surgery.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, she said the family had researched the surgery and found many young people could still be involved in various physical activities including rock climbing and water skiing.
She said: “We learned that there is absolutely no cons to rotationplasty except the way it looks and if you can get past that and focus on your quality of life then you've gained everything and have lost nothing.”
Now 14-years-old, Gabi said she was happy with her decision, with the surgery giving her the best chance of dancing again.
But she said the road to recovery was difficult with it taking about a year after the surgery to take her first steps without any help.
Her leg was frozen at 90 degrees, meaning she had to rely on regular sessions with personal trainers to get her moving again.
She said: “But what motivated me to walk was the thought of dancing again because I just wanted to dance.
“The surgery has allowed me to do so much more than I expected and I would never go back and change it.”
About 400 cases of osteocarcoma are diagnosed in the US while just 30 children in the UK develop the cancer each year.
But the rotationplasty surgery is even less common with about 12 operations a year in the US.
The young Missouri girl first realised something was wrong when she fell over while ice-skating in 2011 with the pain taking weeks to heal.
Doctors initially believed the young dancer had a stress fracture but after a MRI scan, it was revealed she had cancer.
Her mother Debbie Shull said she was devastated for her daughter, saying: “When we were told this news, it was shocking, heartbreaking, scary, unnerving and so many other emotions – all at the same time. We knew nothing of her prognosis, what it meant for Gabi or if the cancer had spread.”
Writing about the diagnosis for CuResearch, Ms Shull said: “The doctor explained that the ice skating incident actually saved her life. If not for the fall, we may not have known that there was anything wrong with her knee until it was too late.”
Gabi is now competitively dancing, using a custom-made prosthesis to be able to perform on pointe.
The young girl has also become an ambassador for The Truth 365, a social media campaign that gives a voice to all children fighting all forms of cancer.
Speaking in a video shared through The Truth 365, Gabi shows how she puts her prosthesis on.
She said: “This surgery allows me to dance, ice skate, roller blade, rock climb and puts no limits and allows me to do anything I want to do.
“It’s definitely a unique surgery and not for everybody but it was worth it for me.”
She now has dreams of working in medicine, specialising in paediatrics, or to work to find a cure for cancer.
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