At just three-years-old, Belmont’s Daisy Lambert endured a painful procedure to break her leg – so she could one day walk like other kids.
Now a bright, sporty nine-year-old, she plans to do it again.
“I’d love to find out what it feels like to be on both of my feet, like other people,” Daisy said.
“It hurt [the first procedure] but I was trying my best to look at what it was going to be like at the end.”
Allan and Robyn Lambert adopted Daisy from China in 2012 after she was abandoned at 16-months-old.
Daisy was born with no right hip, causing her femur to telescope into her pelvis, and congenital femoral deficiency, causing her right leg to be shorter and grow slower than her left.
Initially Australian doctors told the family that amputation was their only option.
But amputation would be a waste given Daisy had a functional foot, ankle and knee, unlike some children with her condition, Robyn said.
“That’s her decision to make when she’s older.”
In 2014, the couple found orthopaedic surgeon of 30 years Dror Paley and travelled to Florida for surgery.
“Basically, they put pins in her leg and they break the leg,” Allan said.
Specialists lengthened the break about a millimetre a day as the bone grew back. After several weeks, Daisy’s right leg had lengthened 8cm, just 2cm shorter than her left.
But the difference between her legs had since grown to 17cm and Daisy was three years overdue for follow-up surgery, Allan explained.
Her family has launched a fundraiser to return to the US for specialist treatment.
They hope to raise $385,000 (AUD) for the surgery, plus money for living expenses in the US.
The long-term plan is for specialists to build a hip out of other bones in Daisy’s body when she is older, so she will no longer need a prosthetic.
“It would feel really great!” Daisy said.
Support Daisy at www.gofundme.com/f/ga9stg-both-feet-on-the-ground.
