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Seven-year-old girl shows friends her new prosthetic leg for first time and their reaction is beautiful

'Is that your new pink leg?' one friend asked. 'Wow!' said another

Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith
Wednesday 03 May 2017 16:31 BST
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Girl shows friends new prosthetic leg and their reaction is beautiful

A seven-year-old girl with an amputated leg has been filmed showing new pink prosthetic blade to her friends for the first time, who hug her with happiness when they see it.

Anu, who had her leg amputated soon after she was born, is seen entering a school playground in Birmingham in the BBC Midlands Today footage, when her friends rush over to see her wearing the new activity prosthetic leg for the first time.

“Is that your new pink leg?” one girl is heard asking Anu. “Wow!” another child says to her, while a little girl with bunches is seen giving her a hug. The children then run around the playground together.

The new blade, which allows Anu to run and dance, has been custom made for her thanks to a £1.5m funding injection given to the NHS last year. The money was allocated for new research and to ensure that children have access to activity prosthetics that allow them to run and swim. A portion of the funding - £500,000 - was ring fenced to fund new sports prosthetics for 500 children, the Telegraph reported. Anu’s family have been supported by the West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre for the treatment.

The Government funding is due to run out in March next year, according to BBC Midlands Today, while prosthetics need replacing every two years.

Anu with her father, as she explains what her prosthetic leg is like. (BBC Midlands)

A number of companies have carried out initiatives to help children who use prosthetic limbs.

A Bristol-based company, Open Bionics, partnered with Disney’s designers and technicians in 2015 to create robotic hands for children with different themes, from Iron Man to Frozen and Star Wars.

One US company that creates prosthetic limbs has started taking special requests to transform young girls’ dolls and give them miniature prosthetic legs to match the ones worn by their young owners.

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