Thursday, April 16, 2009

British girl, 5, becomes youngest to use prosthetic blades

From ITN in the UK:

Five-year-old amputee Ellie Challis has become the youngest person ever to be given prosthetic blades.

At the age of 16 months she lost her arms and legs to meningitis but she has been given new hope by a pair of walking flexible blades.

Her dad Paul said: "Her normal walking speed now is twice what it was, which means she is just slightly slower than any other child."

Ellie has had to learn to walk and stand with the prosthetic limbs and she made it just in time for her first day at school last year.

But the limbs were too painful to wear for more than 20 minutes at a time.

The limbs cost £10,000 per pair and will need to be replaced every two year but doctors believe she could be running within a month.