Before this, I told myself that this kind of thing only happened to other people!
Now I know this can happen to anyone.
The mother
Personal story
"Véronique Carbonelle"
Véronique is 8 years old and lives in Belgium.
She came to Botta with her mother.
Her mother's story
The story
I was pregnant with Véronique when we were told that Véronique would not be like other babies.
At that time, because of the lack of information, we imagined the worst. Before her birth we met an orthopaedic surgeon who assured us it was just a "mechanical" problem and that there were solutions.
Véronique was born on the 20 September 1991 with agenesis of the femur, with no particular cause :
"One case in 250,000," said the doctors.
We waited till she was born to tell her brother and sister, who were then 5 and 7. Despite our fears, they reacted quite naturally to the news :
"What's the problem? Our little sister will be just like other babies !"
Véronique had her first prosthesis at the age of one and walked at 18 months.
It was not possible to operate.
We relied TOTALLY on the prosthesis !
She had quite a few problems, particularly since she has virtually no hip.
Attachment points had to be found for the prosthesis.
In Belgium we were unable to find an appropriate prosthesis.
Discovering Botta
Thanks to a cousin who is an amputee we found Botta.
Véronique was 2 ½ years old. When she tried on her new prosthesis, she started to run. The prosthesis was so light.
Since then we have come back to Botta twice a year.
The 5 first years we came as a family and had holidays in Switzerland. Now, I come alone with her.
Véronique loves coming to Botta. They are very friendly and what's more, she
can meet other people in the same situation as hers. She doesn't want to go anywhere else.
Problems
Up until the age of 6 children quickly forget they are ill.
So we took great care with even the smallest details.
At the age of 6, Véronique suddenly realised that things would always be this way.
She went through a period of great anger which was very difficult for us.
Nowadays, she acts as if the prosthesis was her second leg.
We imagined the worst.
It is important that parents are reassured that their children will be independent.
We all want our children to have perfect lives.
Sometimes our expectations were too high.
"She can walk" Botta said to us. Yes, it was amazing !
Activities
Véronique is independent.
She puts on the prosthesis by herself and can go for 8 days without any special care.
She runs, swims, rides her bike etc.
Her personality
She can usually do no more than 2km on foot.
She can't take part in all the usual sports like other children.
But if you tell her that, she takes it as a challenge, even though she may be sore or very tired afterwards.
Botta prostheses
Véronique has been fitted with an orthoprosthesis which integrates the ischiatic bone.
The softsocket helps her to put on her device.
A specially designed joint situated behind her foot allows her to sit down with minimal over-extension of the femur.
Her own feelings about herself
I can do everything: cartwheels, jumping, running ....
If I am asked what I have, I say :
"I was born this way and it isn't just a wooden leg"
