Brave Ruby was born to run
The inspirational youngster wants leg amputated
A brave nine- year- old girl wants to have her leg amputated because she was “born to run”.
Ruby Hamilton has the support of her parents in her desperate quest. She suffers from a rare and crippling condition called proximal femoral focal deficiency ( PFFD), which affects just one in 40,000 children. It causes a deformity of the hip and the leg being shortened. She was also born with talipes – a condition where the front half of the foot turns inwards and downwards. Ruby and her parents believe that the drastic measure gives hope of changing her life for the better. After seeing paralympian Jonnie Peacock on Strictly Come Dancing, Ruby was so inspired by what he could do with a prosthetic leg that she asked her mum and dad to investigate the possibility of her having an amputation. Ruby’s consultant had already discussed the option with her parents Robert, 40, and Maddy, 36, but they wanted to wait until she was old enough to decide for herself. Ruby loves swimming and said her favourite Disney princess is Ariel – another girl who found moving in water easier than walking on land. She would love to do gymnastics, dance and run. But she said: “I am not able to. It is so unfair.” Talking about Jonnie in an interview with our sister paper, The Daily Record, Ruby said: “He was amazing. I didn’t know at first that he only had one leg. “I will be able to do anything after my operation. I just want to be like everyone else. I will be able to join in with everyone else and I want to be first in a race. I want to win. “Having a new leg will give me a real chance of winning a race. “I want every kind of leg. I want a running blade, one I can fit my shoes on and a swimming leg.” Ruby feels “kind of brave” to choose an amputation but insists a new leg will stop her falling over as much. She said: “I want to be able to play football and score a goal. I try to join in at school but I fall over. I fall over about 559 times a day. I get a lot of cuts and bruises.” Maddy, from Drongan, said: “Ruby wants to be a gymnast and she keeps saying to me, ‘ I was born to run mum’. She’s amazing. Sports day at school is a big thing. She gets tired but she is determined to do well. Her dream is to win a race.” Robert said: “You see all the kids running and then see Ruby limping behind them. It is heartbreaking. I don’t know what goes through her wee head. “We know this is the best thing for her but at least 20 times a day we ask, ‘ Are we doing the right thing?’” Last year, experts in cruciate problems came from London and Edinburgh to see her. But Ruby has no cruciate ligament so there is nothing to reconstruct. Maddy said: “We knew we were looking at amputation but it was a decision only Ruby could make.” Later this month, Ruby will go to Sheffield to meet an expert for his opinion on the operation. If all goes well, she will have surgery in Glasgow as soon as possible.