Ten Fingers, Five Toes
When little Vincent Lynick was born, his parents were prepared to get a healthy baby boy and that’s exactly what they got. Except, with one minor flaw. Vincent was born without a tibia bone, which caused his left leg to be shorter and his foot to angle more inwards. But, have no fear, this is a happy story.
After Vincent was born Sally and Michael, his parents, visited several doctors asking each one about what they could do for their son. They all said that Vincent would need to have his leg amputated if he ever wanted to walk normally. But, the question was ‘where to amputate’. They had to choose between above the knee or below.
The Lynicks waited until after their son’s first birthday to decide. They chose to amputate Vincent’s leg below the knee. They believed it would bring more success in the future when Vincent got fitted for a prosthetic.
A charity cross-fit competition helped raise 20,000 dollars to pay for the surgery and prosthetic. It was set up by the Wiggle Your Toes Foundation, founded by Aaron Holm, who started the charity after a three way car accident took his right leg.
“As much as that family once us along,” Holm said to USATODAY when discussing what the charity does. “We’re gonna be along for the ride”.
The surgery took several hours at Shriners Hospital in Minneapolis but doctors were incredibly pleased with the results.
Four days later, Vincent Lynick was walking, walking so much that his cast fell off.
“He was walking after four days. One day he took ten steps even,” Sally Lynick told USATODAY. Sadly, Vincent won’t be getting a prosthetic leg for about a month. But, even with his ten fingers and five toes Vincent is ready to face the world. “It feels right, I feel like we totally made the right decision”.
Vincent’s Story on USATODAY : http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/18/inspiration-nation-one-year-old-amputee-walks/23615435/
FSA Connection Questions
- Where did Vincent have his surgery?
- What is the main idea of this story?
- What does the word ‘minor’ mean?
- Why do you think this story is relevant?
- Who funded Vincent’s surgery?
Megan Ghillyer is a senior at Freedom high school. She is one of the Co-Editors-in-Chief of the Freedom newspaper and has been taking the class since freshman...
