Our daughter Cassie was born with a birth defect that left her right leg considerably shorter than the left. Her right foot was also missing several critical bones, and her ankle and lower leg bone were malformed. When the doctor recommended amputating above the ankle, we were hesitant, but the alternative was years of surgery and trying to stretch the leg out, all on the slim hope it would work. Although it was a really hard decision, we decided amputation was the best path to take.
They did the surgery when Cassie was nine months old and of course that was a difficult time for us. But then she got her first prosthesis and she did fine with it. She never tried to take it off or seemed to mind it was there. She took her first steps by herself the day before her first birthday. This year, at age 10, she finally weighed enough to get an energy storing Flex-Foot. That's one of the things we love about Scott Sabolich Prosthetic & Research… they want to constantly improve Cassie's prosthesis and they keep presenting us with cutting-edge technology.
Cassie is a pitcher for the Oklahoma Magic softball team, playing 80 games of fast pitch softball a year. She also enjoys rollerblading, biking, skiing and swimming. She has never, ever said, "I can't." She is strong both physically and mentally, and has a great self-image. She's never looked at herself as handicapped in any way and neither have we. At school she's just like any other kid.
Cassie was featured on "Nick News" on cable television's Nickelodeon in a story about kids with artificial limbs. It was a fun experience, but she's still not sure what all the fuss is about. In her mind, she's an ordinary girl. "I don't even think about my leg," Cassie says. "It's easy to forget it's there."
As parents, we are totally optimistic about her future and believe there's no limit to what she can accomplish. And even though she's only 10, Cassie is thinking ahead. "I still don't know whether to be a prosthetist or a veterinarian when I grow up," Cassie says. "If I were a prosthetist, I could help kids that are my age now, and I would have had the experience to know just what they need. That would be great."