The adorable Freya was born with one in three million children. She had ɴᴏ sʜɪɴ ʙᴏɴᴇs on hers ʟᴇɢs, meaning she could only move by crawling on hers ᴋɴᴇᴇs.
Parents Danielle, 27, and Michael Gibbs, from Llandysul, Carmarthenshire, Wales ᴅɪᴅɴ’ᴛ kɴᴏw there was something wrong with their baby until it was born. Freya was born on September 7, 2017 in Carmarthen, Wales, weighing 6lbs 8oz. She dᴏᴄᴛᴏʀs said that she might have ᴄʟᴜʙғᴏᴏᴛ, but then they realized that hers ʟᴇɢs were hers ʙᴏᴡᴇᴅ and she ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅɴ’ᴛ moved them. At 18 months, Freya was ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ with ᴛɪʙɪᴀʟ ʜᴇᴍɪᴍᴇʟɪᴀ, a ʀᴀʀᴇ ʟᴏᴡᴇʀ ʟɪᴍʙ ᴅᴇғᴇ ᴄᴛ is believed to occur in one in a million births. Gibbs said: “Her feet were in a ᴀᴡᴋᴡᴀʀᴅ ᴘᴏsɪᴛɪᴏɴ motion, her ᴋɴᴇᴇs ᴅɪᴅɴ’ᴛ and hers ʟᴇɢs were in a fixed position. Two weeks later she was ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ with bilateral ᴛɪʙɪᴀʟ ʜᴇᴍɪᴍᴇʟɪᴀ. Bilateral means that it happens in both ʟᴇɢs. Further tests revealed that she also had an ʜᴏʟᴇ in hers ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ hers, however it is unclear why or what the ᴅᴇғᴇᴄᴛ was”. The parents were ᴡᴀʀɴᴇᴅ their daughter ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ would walk, with the ʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴏғ ʙᴏɴᴇ ᴄᴀᴜsɪɴɢ their ʟᴇɢs to turn inward. They could let Freya face a lifetime of ᴘᴀɪɴғᴜʟ sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ in an attempt to rebuild her her own or ask ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄsto ᴀᴍᴘᴜᴛᴀᴛᴇsus ʟᴇɢs.
Mom Danielle said: “Words cannot describe how proud we are of Freya. The first time Freya was able to walk outside and Mommy and Daddy held hands, it felt like a miracle and we were so proud. The little things that most people take for granted are very important to us. They were holding her, so we made the decision ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ to break up with them ʀᴇᴍᴏᴠᴇᴅ. He’s grinning from ear to ear when we bring them to him to wear in the morning. She already knows that once she has put on the ʟᴇɢs, she can go out and play. Taking Freya’s ʟᴇɢs has actually given her the freedom that she ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ would have otherwise known. We would make the same decision again in a ʜᴇᴀʀᴛbeat. It was a difficult decision to make but we felt it was better to have Freya’s two ʟᴇɢs ᴀᴍᴘᴜᴛᴀᴛᴇᴅ and let her get used to life without them from a young age. We could have tried to spend the next 15 years having endless ᴘᴀɪɴғᴜʟ ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴs, but ᴅɪᴅɴ’ᴛ we want to put her through just so they can’t work or she decides she wants a ᴀᴍᴘᴜᴛᴀ ᴛɪ ᴏɴ anyway. In this way, she ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ will remember something different and we hope that she will quickly adjust to life with ᴘʀᴏsᴛʜᴇᴛɪᴄ ʟɪᴍʙs”.
She added: “ɴᴏw she has the ᴘʀᴏsᴛʜᴇᴛɪᴄs, she is excited because she can go play outside, just like her older sister. Olivia absolutely adores Freya, she’s lovely to watch and there’s no doubt that Freya wouldn’t be doing as well if it wasn’t for her bond. Before hers ᴀᴍᴘᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ hers, she would be trying to walk on hers ᴋɴᴇᴇs and following her sister, but hers ʟᴇɢs were getting in the way. As soon as she got her stumps, she climbed on them and walked over to Olivia, me, and her dad. After the ᴀᴍᴘᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, she learned to get up by climbing all over Olivia. We hope that she continues to go from strength to strength.”
