15-Year-Old Amputee Ballerina Who Lost Her Leg To Cancer, Makes An Unbelievable Recovery
When Gabi Shull from Missouri was only nine years old, she had to have part of her leg amputated due to osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that affected her knee. But as you can see, that hasn’t stopped the young ballerina from dancing!
The cancer was found when Gabi had an x-ray after injuring herself ice-skating. It looked like she’d never dance again but the now fifteen-year-old just can’t stop moving thanks to a revolutionary form of surgery called rotationplasty. Surgeons reattached her foot to the remainder of her leg at a 180 degree angle so that it could fit into a prosthetic in such a way as to allow her to continue dancing. And that’s exactly what Gabi is doing! She takes pointe, hip-hop, tap, jazz, contemporary and lyrical dance classes, and she also dances competitively. Not only that but she’s also a national spokesperson for a children’s cancer awareness organization called The Truth 365. Could this girl be any more awesome? We think not. (h/t: cosmopolitan)
When Gabi Shull was only nine years old, she had to have part of her leg amputated due to cancer
Image credits: Debbie Shull
But that hasn’t stopped the young ballerina from dancing!
Image credits: Andrew Thomas
She had a revolutionary form of surgery called rotationplasty
Image credits: Andrew Thomas
Surgeons reattached her foot to the remainder of her leg at a 180 degree angle
Image credits: Andrew Thomas
This enabled it to fit into a prosthetic in such a way as to allow her to continue dancing
Image credits: Andrew Thomas
And that’s exactly what Gabi is doing! Could this girl be any more awesome?
Image credits: Andrew Thomas
Watch the video below for more info:
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Share on FacebookAbsolutely amazing. Makes happy to see something inspiring like this after a week of terrible news and events i.e. Trump
I am speechless! Not only is Gabi an incredibly brave and strong girl, but the surgery she had gives an amazing result. I had never heard of rotationplasty and needed the video to understand it.
As wonderful as it is to see her able to do what she loves I question why doctors would allow her to keep dancing. It's a well known fact that bellet causes foot deformaties and nerve damage resulting in chronic foot pain. Our feet simply aren't made to be used at an angle that bellet requires, in fact many forms of dance are bad for your feet. Google image will give you plenty of examples.
Kudos to Gabi Shull for her great recovery from cancer like disease. She is truly an inspiration to all of us. After reading her post I remembered an incident from my childhood. One of my friends was diagnosed with brain cancer and she underwent radiotherapy at www.advancedradiationcenters.com, she too never gave up for her dreams to become a journalist.
It goes to show that there is no such word as Can't. What an incredible spirit this girl has.
Gabi ~ you are an inspirational young lady! Keep on dancing and living life to the fullest!
Absolutely amazing. Makes happy to see something inspiring like this after a week of terrible news and events i.e. Trump
I am speechless! Not only is Gabi an incredibly brave and strong girl, but the surgery she had gives an amazing result. I had never heard of rotationplasty and needed the video to understand it.
As wonderful as it is to see her able to do what she loves I question why doctors would allow her to keep dancing. It's a well known fact that bellet causes foot deformaties and nerve damage resulting in chronic foot pain. Our feet simply aren't made to be used at an angle that bellet requires, in fact many forms of dance are bad for your feet. Google image will give you plenty of examples.
Kudos to Gabi Shull for her great recovery from cancer like disease. She is truly an inspiration to all of us. After reading her post I remembered an incident from my childhood. One of my friends was diagnosed with brain cancer and she underwent radiotherapy at www.advancedradiationcenters.com, she too never gave up for her dreams to become a journalist.
It goes to show that there is no such word as Can't. What an incredible spirit this girl has.
Gabi ~ you are an inspirational young lady! Keep on dancing and living life to the fullest!
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