Winnipeg, Canada conference brings latest in prosthetics to child amputees

From Global Winnipeg:

Hundreds of families from across the prairies gathered in Winnipeg August 20 for a three day conference which celebrates the challenges kids like Taryn Klipenstein face.

Life with an artificial leg is all the seven year old has ever known. She lost her foot when she was an infant because of a medical condition; but her new swim leg has allowed her to take to water.

"It was very scary but I just kinda jumped in and I started liking it," giggled Taryn.

"We were very concerned about teasing and being held back to a point," her father Norm Klippenstein explained; but with the latest advancements in prosthetics, there’s nothing Taryn hasn't been able to try.

Overcoming amputations is exactly why nearly a hundred kids are gathering in Winnipeg, showing off their latest War Amp devices that have allowed them to snowboard, kayak and play guitar.

“I know that we can do that we want to do, and our amputations don't have to hold us back," said Annelise Petlock, Public Awareness Officer for the War Amps. Petlock herself is an amputee.

While these kids have been taught to embrace their prosthetics, they all relate to the teasing and staring that comes along with them.

"I don't know why they always stare at me. It's just a leg," said 11 year old, Christian Shelby. He says he learned to overcome his differences in sharing circles at the Western Child Amputee Seminar .

“Obviously, there's not a problem with myself if I'm getting bullied. There's a problem with the people that are bullying me," explained one child in the sharing circle.

“When they leave, they need to open and able and comfortable in their own skin, in their communities because they're going to get asked question. And they're going to be stared at." said Petlock.

A lot of these kids will return to communities where they may be the only amputee.

But this weekend they find inspiration in people who can relate.