Isaac Ismail

Doctors gave Isaac’s mum, Aisha, the worrying news at her first scan that her baby seemed to be missing the fibula bone that should have formed the shin of his right leg. It was also difficult to see how many toes were forming on his foot. “It put a strain on us,” says Aisha, as they faced an uncertain future and a wait to see what Isaac’s birth would bring.

When he was born, doctors discovered that Isaac had just one toe. Without his shin bone and with so few toes, it was decided that it would be better for Isaac to undergo an amputation of that part of his leg, in the hope he would have a healthier life with a prosthetic limb.

Isaac’s parents then faced the agonising wait for him to reach around 18 months old for his operation. COVID threatened to delay the procedure but eventually, surgeons were able to carry out the procedure and Isaac was fitted with a prosthetic leg. Aisha remembers: “Isaac was a super-active baby and, against doctor’s orders, he walked straight away on his plaster cast!” Within a week, he had mastered his new limb and there was no looking back.

Following his amputation, Isaac moved to the care of RNOH at Stanmore with his consultant. “There was no question about moving to Stanmore,” Aisha says. Here, he is monitored by the orthopaedic team, while the prosthetics department are there every time Isaac needs a new leg as he grows.

“So far he has had three new legs,” Aisha says, adding that he’s recently upgraded to a very special version with his first blade. “We had to wait for him to be big enough for a blade,” Aisha explains, “but I can’t tell you how much of a difference it has made! He’s using less energy to achieve what he wants to do because a blade is lighter. He used to be in pain by bedtime but now he has no issues. I can’t praise the Stanmore team enough. The whole team is amazing.”

Now five years old, Isaac has started school and is a happy and energetic member of the class. “He is proud of his leg and keen to show everyone whenever he has a new one fitted. At RNOH, you really can achieve anything,” Aisha smiles.

Isaac has been choosing superhero designs to decorate his prosthetic limbs and, thanks to an amazing drive to fundraise for the hospital, is now a superhero himself! He has completed two fundraising runs at his local track and recently presented a cheque for a brilliant £915 to the team at Stanmore. What an amazing young man!