Caringbah's Mia Stewart may only be eight years of age, but she has taken each day since she was born, in her stride.
Mia was born with a severe non-genetic limb difference called proximal femoral focal deficiency (PFFD). She had a missing femur and no hip. Her case is extremely rare.
"We found out at 19 weeks scan that her femur was basically non existent," Mia's mother Leila Bright, said.
Mia received her first prosthetic as a nine month old baby, and in early 2019, had rotationplasty surgery in the US.
"We had seen lots of surgeons but as it was so rare, there wasn't much help," Leila said. "Brent and I fundraised for roughly two and half years when we lived in Wagga, and raised about $360,000. The surgery was $310,000 and we lived in the US for three months.
"The surgery she had was done by Dr Paley at the Paley Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida. It's called the Paley Modified Brown Rotationplasty, and it took about 12 hours. It is considered a beneficial alternative for the most severe cases.
"They rotated the leg 180 degrees so the foot faces backwards and her ankle acts like a knee joint. Her old knee is now her hip joint. It's complicated but gives her the best function."
Mia also recently participated at the annual Ossur Mobility Clinic in Melbourne, where she worked with physiotherapists and paralympians in shared experience.
"Beyond the mobility side of things like techniques to improve Mia's walking, more than anything it's the connection to community that is so great for Mia," Leila said. "Seeing people like her in an environment where she isn't being questioned or stared at, is invaluable."
The family posts about their daughter's daily adventures on Instagram.
"We started sharing Mia's journey to raise awareness about limb difference and give other families in the same or similar position a place where they could connect and ask us questions," Leila said.
"At the start of our journey I felt so lonely and just never wanted anyone else to have to feel that way."
To her family, Mia is just like any other little girl. "Mia is an amazing kid. She's very active - she dances, swims and plays netball," Leila said. "She's a great friend and big sister to Andie, seven."
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