- Gabi Shull, from Missouri, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma aged nine
- Her lower leg was amputated but her foot and ankle were attached to stump
- It allowed her to walk again a year later, and dance again a year after that
- The teenager, 14, is now hoping to inspire others to ‘never give up’
Flora Drury For Mailonline
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A schoolgirl who had her leg amputated after suffering from a rare bone cancer has defied the odds to become a competitive dancer.
Ballerina Gabi Shull had been dancing for three years when, aged just nine, she was diagnosed with osteocarcoma in her knee – leaving her parents fearing the worst.
But thanks to a ground-breaking operation which saw her foot attached to her upper leg, and a lot of determination, the 14-year-old is now back on her toes and hoping to inspire others.
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Determination: Keen dancer Gabi Shull, 14, of Missouri, was nine when she was told she had a rare form of cancer and would need her leg amputated – potentially ending her ballet career
Amazing: But thanks to a groundbreaking operation, in which her foot was attached to what remained of her leg, five years later she is back on her toes – and dancing competitively
Gabi, from Missouri, America, first realised there was something wrong after falling on her knee while ice skating in January 2011.
At first her parents thought it was just bruised but after two weeks without improvement they took her to hospital for an x-ray.
Initially doctors believed she had sustained a stress fracture but an MRI scan a few weeks later showed that she had cancer.
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Gabi’s mother Debbie said: ‘We went to the doctor and he told us the news. He said, ‘your daughter has what we think, could be cancer. A type of cancer called Osteosarcoma’.
‘We were shocked. He had to repeat what he said because I didn’t believe him. I didn’t think my ears heard him correctly.
‘Gabi asked me why this had happened to her and we said you know sometimes bad things happen to good people we don’t know why but we have to do our best to get through it – and that’s what we did.’
Shock: Gabi first knew something was wrong when she fell on her knee while skating in January 2011
Cancer: Doctors discovered she had a type of cancer called osteosarcoma, and had to amputate
Groundbreaking: But they offered her the chance to have a rotationplasty, which would give Gabi a lot more freedom of movement after losing her leg
Gabi embarked on 12 weeks of chemotherapy to shrink the tumour to an operable size.
She was offered different treatments and amputations but the family chose the rare rotationplasty – which would see her diseased knee removed and foot was rotated 180 degrees then reattached to her upper leg, with her ankle serving as her knee.
The surgery to allow her the optimum mobility and movement.
Debbie said: ‘We talked about it with Gabi and we started looking at videos of kids roller blading, rock climbing, water skiing after having a rotationplasty.
‘We learned that there is absolutely no cons to rotationplasty except the way it looks and if you can get past that and focus on your quality of life then you’ve gained everything and have lost nothing.
‘There are about 12 rotationplasty surgeries every year in the United States, it’s just not a common surgery.’
And for Gabi, there was one thing motivating her above all else: her love of dancing.
Slow process: It took Gabi a year to learn to walk on her new leg, and another year to get back to dancing
Inspiring: But she is now dancing competitively, and is an inspiration to other cancer sufferers
‘After I had my leg amputated the first call was to just get me walking again and get me out of the hospital bed,’ she said.
‘But what motivated me to walk was the thought of dancing again because I just wanted to dance.’
However, it wasn’t easy.
Gabi revealed: ‘It was painful at first. I was afraid to put weight on my leg and then I had to get the motion back in my ankle because it was frozen at 90 degrees.
‘It took me about a year and several personal trainer sessions to take my first steps without any assistance and a year after that I was dancing on stage again.
She is using her experiences to help others – through The Truth 365 – a social media campaign that gives a voice to children suffering from cancer
Brave: Gabi embarked on 12 weeks of chemotherapy to shrink the tumour to an operable size
Thanks to a ground-breaking operation which saw her foot attached to her upper leg, and a lot of determination, the 14-year-old is now back on her toes and hoping to inspire others
‘The surgery has allowed me to do so much more than I expected and I would never go back and change it.’
Now Gabi is dancing competitively and she is an inspiration to her dance teachers and fellow dance students.
And she is using her experiences to help others – through The Truth 365 – a social media campaign that gives a voice to children suffering from cancer.
The campaign raises awareness of childhood cancer and Gabi is the national spokesperson.
‘I can do anything’: Gabi, pictured with her family, including mother Debbie, far right, now dreams of a career in medicine
Gabi, who has big dreams for the future, is pictured with her mother Debbie, left
Debbie said: ‘She has done so much more than anybody expected.
‘She is a determined kid and none of us view her as disabled. At times we forget that she has the prosthetic.’
And Gabi has even bigger dreams for the future.
She said: ‘When I am older I would like specialise in paediatrics at colleges or work as a nurse or scientist looking to help find a cure for cancer.
‘If I can beat cancer and live with a prosthetic leg and learn to do everything again – then I believe I can do anything.’
- For more information about The Truth 365 go to its website.
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