CINCINNATI, OH- Who knew that stirrups could provide the first indication of a child’s limb length discrepancy? But that is exactly what happened to Caroline Spurr, a 16-year old junior at Saint Ursula Academy from Indian Hill. When she was 9, she attended a horseback riding summer camp and the instructor noticed that her stirrups had to be buckled at two different levels to accommodate her differing leg lengths. After consulting with several local doctors and confirming Caroline’s limb length discrepancy, her parents realized that they needed to seek a very specialized orthopedist for Caroline’s condition. Persistence led them to Dr. Dror Paley who founded the Paley Advanced Limb Lengthening Institute (PALLI) at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. Dr. Paley is one of the world’s foremost experts in limb lengthening and orthopedic deformity correction. Dr. Paley assured Caroline and her family that her congenital limb length discrepancy of approximately 2 ½” could be corrected with external fixation devices on both her femur and tibia/fibula. When Caroline was 11, she had grown enough for Dr. Paley to perform surgery to lengthen her left leg. As with most Paley patients, Caroline and her mother lived in Florida during the lengthening process so as to avail themselves of specialized physical therapy, including pool therapy, on a daily basis. After 15 weeks, the fixators were removed and Caroline continued physical therapy at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The surgery was a great success. Since 2009, Caroline has grown 5” and her hips, knees and ankles are all still perfectly even! She can now run, dance and wear heels…all without shoe lifts! While the process was extremely painful and difficult, she was lucky in that her condition did not require multiple surgeries. Many of the Paley patients have to return multiple times for various orthopedic and lengthening procedures. Caroline often thought about how she could make a positive impact on the approximately 100 kids who come from all around the United States and the world each summer for Dr. Paley’s life-changing surgeries and thus The Starfish Kids Project was born. The goal of The Starfish Kids Project, an initiative of The Paley Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is to provide canvas bags containing small items of comfort to each of the children who are summer patients at PALLI. One of the very important items she wants to include in each bag is a stuffed teddy bear as her bear “Honey” was her constant companion during the recovery and rehab process. She is also hoping to include healthy snacks, lotion, sunscreen, decorative tape, plastic drinking cups, fleece blankets, rubber bracelets and gift certificates, among other items, to serve as encouragement to the kids during their time in Florida. The Latin Club at SUA, of which Caroline is an officer, will be helping assemble the bags as one of its spring service projects. Caroline is seeking corporate and individual sponsorships and in-kind donations for this important children’s charity. “This was a tough time in my life,” said Caroline, “and I am excited about this project bringing smiles to Dr. Paley’s patients.” More information on the Paley Advanced Limb Lengthening Institute can be obtained at www.paleyinstitute.org. Tax deductible donations to The Starfish Kids Project can be made securely online at the Paley Foundation website www.thepaleyfoundation.org/#!starfishkids/c2oe or checks payable to The Paley Foundation/The Starfish Kids Project can be sent to 6435 Hunters Trail, Cincinnati, OH 45243. Contact Caroline Spurr at [email protected] for additional information on how you can make a difference for Dr. Paley’s patients through The Starfish Kids Project.
PHOTO CAPTION: Caroline was happy to wear heels to prom in 2014!
Story courtesy of Christin Spurr