Patient

Brooklynn Crist

Brooklynn Crist is a beautiful and exuberant 4-year-old with a quick sense of humor that can catch you by surprise. And she is so lively and active that unless you look closely, you might miss her prosthetic left leg.

Brooklynn was born with a rare (approximately 1 in 100,000 births) and complex defect called Proximal Focal Femoral Deficiency (PFFD) on her left side. She had no hip joint, and her femur (thigh bone) was shortened. At birth, the difference between the length of her right and left legs was 2 inches.

As Brooklynn began to grow and eventually to walk, she was fitted with lifts in her left shoe that made the length of her legs even, but her knees were at different heights and the lifts made the left shoe heavy and cumbersome. Eventually, Brooklynn’s left leg was seven inches shorter than her still-growing right leg and her parents decided on a surgical solution for her problem.

“We chose rotationplasty surgery with Dr. Paley at Sinai hospital in Baltimore as the best option for Brooklynn,” explains her mother Jennifer. “He rotated Brooklynn’s entire left leg 180 degrees, created a hip joint from her knee, adjusted the length of her femur, made her ankle into a knee joint, and fixed her foot so that it serves as a base for her prosthetic.”

Brooklynn was fitted for her first prosthetic leg last summer at D&J. Prosthetists John Logue and Mark Talley met with Brooklynn and her family before the surgery to discuss their goals for Brooklynn and map out a treatment plan. Then in August, the family traveled to D&J’s Forest Hill office from their home in Ohio for two days of intensive work measuring, fitting and fabricating her prosthesis.

“At first, Brooklynn didn’t like her prosthesis and didn’t like to wear it because she was so used to the hopping gait she used without it,” her mother says, “but then she realized how much she could do while wearing it.” In the four months she’s had her prosthesis, Brooklynn has been working with a physical therapist and has learned to walk up and down stairs, run, and kick a soccer ball; and she’s learning to ride a tricycle.

“Now she doesn’t even like to take her prosthesis off for bedtime.”

Because she faces more surgery in the future, and because she is still growing and changing, Brooklynn’s story is that of a work-in-progress. Prosthetist Mark Talley explains, “Our work with Brooklynn has only just begun. We will continue working with Brooklynn and her family, the surgeons, and physical therapists to make sure that she sees improvements in her gait and function at each step in the rehabilitation process. We look forward to giving her the best possible prosthetic result, allowing her to lead an active and fulfilling life at every age.”