When Gabi Shull from Missouri was only nine years old, she had to have part of her leg amputated due to osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that affected her knee. But as you can see, that hasn't stopped the young ballerina from dancing!
The cancer was found when Gabi had an x-ray after injuring herself ice-skating. It looked like she'd never dance again but the now fifteen-year-old just can't stop moving thanks to a revolutionary form of surgery called rotationplasty. Surgeons reattached her foot to the remainder of her leg at a 180 degree angle so that it could fit into a prosthetic in such a way as to allow her to continue dancing. And that's exactly what Gabi is doing! She takes pointe, hip-hop, tap, jazz, contemporary and lyrical dance classes, and she also dances competitively. Not only that but she's also a national spokesperson for a children's cancer awareness organization called The Truth 365. Could this girl be any more awesome? We think not. (h/t: cosmopolitan)
When Gabi Shull was only nine years old, she had to have part of her leg amputated due to cancer
Image credits: Debbie Shull
But that hasn't stopped the young ballerina from dancing!
Image credits: Andrew Thomas
She had a revolutionary form of surgery called rotationplasty
Image credits: Andrew Thomas
Surgeons reattached her foot to the remainder of her leg at a 180 degree angle
Image credits: Andrew Thomas
This enabled it to fit into a prosthetic in such a way as to allow her to continue dancing
Image credits: Andrew Thomas
And that's exactly what Gabi is doing! Could this girl be any more awesome?
Image credits: Andrew Thomas