Elayne is an active 6 year old, born with Amniotic Band Syndrome (ABS) causing her to have a congenital Left below the knee amputation. She had her first walking prosthetic at 8 months old. Our experiences with prosthetics before ABR, was she had limited movement, a lot of prosthesis didn’t have experience with kids and then the ones who did, were over whelmed and focused more on orthotics. We had several different set ups. As Layne could “run” in her walking leg, she had a foot that didn’t move and limited movement at the knee. It was all she knew so she was getting around and playing all the sports she could.
Then, at camp Nubability we found out about ABR, so in September of 2016, I applied for the grant, because Elayne is competitive she wants to be with the best of the kids at everything she does, Softball, basketball, and now competitive cheer. Not to mention she is running with me in 5Ks. After the interview process we were accepted, so for her spring break (March 2017). We headed to Nashville, to begin and end the process in a 9 day process. Elayne was able to help design and craft her new legs. She now has a running blade and an all sports blade. A few major benefits is she is able to stand on her prosthetic and balance on it. She can run faster and keep up better with the other kids, during softball and basketball. I can think of 100 more. She is just staying so much more active and it fits better and feels better than any other one she has had.
The experience with the crew was amazing, they become family, we stay in contact with them now and they see on social media how Elayne is and we see what they are up too. Who wouldn’t want that! The fact they taught me, her mom how to do minor adjustments and fix minor issues is beyond describable. I am able to contact them and they will walk me threw what I need. They are an amazing group of people!
Life after ABR has been fantastic, In the words of Elayne, she can “run faster and play harder!”