A three-year-old boy who was born without a shin in his right leg and whose foot was amputated manages to walk thanks to a prosthesis and his inspiring endurance.
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At the apartment in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Montreal, energetic little Sandro moves quickly, sometimes crawling or leaning on his knees.
“I call him the little winner,” says his mother, Geneviève Michel.
“Even without a prosthesis, he does his business alone! He’s resourceful,” adds his father Lovens Rathon, who is clearly proud of his boy.
His parents found out during the interim ultrasound that Sandro didn’t have a shin.
Photo agency QMI, Joël Lemay
Sandro, 3 years old, surrounded by his parents Geneviève Michel and Lovens Rathon.
His leg was also deformed and curled inward.
“Hard to Hear”
“I was upset at the time, it was hard to hear,” says the 32-year-old mother, who works in early childhood. But his whole development was normal. So we said to ourselves: Okay, we’ll take it as it is.
It was clear from birth that Sandro could never step on his leg.
At nine months, the doctors at Sainte-Justine Hospital spoke of a foot amputation.
“It was a shock again,” adds the mother. I was very upset at the time.”
In September 2020, at the age of 13 months, Sandro had his foot amputated. Doctors couldn’t just insert a metal plate to replace the tibia.
A strong character
The toddler was then given a suitable prosthesis with which it learned to walk.
“We were told it would take six months, but it only took him three months,” says the mother, impressed by her son. “He never gave up,” she adds. He was determined.”
Despite this, the parents struggled to adjust to how others saw their son.
“First I hid his leg so we wouldn’t see it,” the mother admits. I didn’t want him to be viewed badly. I did not feel well.”
Photo agency QMI, Joël Lemay
“The first few times were tough,” adds the 31-year-old father. But now I’m not worried, Sandro is strong. He has a strong character!”
Last October, the boy underwent a second operation to correct a curvature in the axis of his right leg. A new prosthesis will be cast soon. Until then, he moves by jumping onto his left leg or walking on his knees.
He even manages to walk down stairs on his buttocks or backwards.
Despite this handicap, his parents remain convinced that Sandro can develop normally and follow the other children without any problems.
“He’s a champion. I tell him every day that he is brave, says his mother. If he’s fine in there, I should be fine there too.”
Tibial hemimelia
- Rare congenital disease
- Babies are born without a tibia or with a partial tibia
- He can walk normally
He can walk normally
Amputated at a very young age, Sandro should have no trouble learning to walk with his prosthesis, his doctor assures.
“If the amputation occurs early, the child can integrate the prosthesis as part of themselves,” explains Dr. Peter Glavas, the orthopedist at CHU Sainte-Justine who operated on Sandro. “It’s easier than, for example, for an adult who is amputated after an accident.”
Rare malformation
The condition Sandro was born with, tibial hemimelia, is the rarest of the orthopedic congenital malformations. About one in a million children is affected.
In Sandro’s case, according to Dr. Glavas inevitable as he couldn’t articulate.
“This is not a decision that we take lightly,” assures the specialist. But it was clear that his foot would never have been functional. It was bent 90 degrees on the inside. He could never have walked,” said the doctor.
In addition, we are assured by Dr. Glavas that prosthetists are now making excellent custom-made products so that children can lead normal lives.
“The prostheses are very efficient. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell which side it’s on,” he reveals.
“He’s going to do a lot of things. Once it’s healed he can gradually resume his activities, I have no doubt about that,” the doctor said.
Little Sandro has had three different prostheses since he was born, which have to be adjusted each time he grows up.
time to get used to it
In addition, Dr. Glavas points out that parents would like to know about the congenital condition before their child is born.
“They’ve had time to adjust, that’s appreciated,” he said.
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