Xavier is reaching his goals

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We are delighted that Xavier, who arrived from Madagascar in the first week of December, was able to undergo his surgery in early February. It was a long journey to get him here and we are incredibly grateful for the continued support which has allowed us to do everything needed to finally get him to Australia for his life-saving surgery.

You may recall that Xavier was in an accident many years ago which caused severe damage to the top layers of the skin and tissue on his lower leg. As well as enduring significant tissue damage, Xavier had a 90-degree contracture on his knee and a twisted ankle and foot.

Xavier needed to have his lower leg amputated and be fitted with a suitable prosthetic to enable him to be able to walk again, go to school and get his life back.

Due to the risk of developing infection and cancer, his surgery was not considered elective therefore was able to go ahead. Xavier was in the trusted hands of the wonderful A/Prof Leo Donnan and the team at St Vincent’s Private. It seems he was a model patient as the CFF team have noticed lots of message of support to him on CFF social media from the nurses and other staff he met whilst there!

Xavier has been progressing really well following his leg amputation surgery. He has already met the wonderful team from ProMotion Prosthetics and at the time of writing this he is in the midst of being fitted with a prosthetic leg. This will take a number of appointments to ensure that the prosthetic leg is an excellent fit and doesn’t cause Xavier any issues once he returns home to Madagascar.

Xavier has not put any weight on his injured leg for many years. He has been hopping with the use of his other leg and crutches. Consequently the muscles around the hip of his injured leg have become weak and tight.

Our volunteer Physiotherapists have taught Xavier an exercise program to strengthen and to stretch his muscles. These exercises are important to enable him to walk with an optimal gait when his prosthetic leg is fitted. Xavier is really motivated and as a 15 year old boy he looks forward to an active life without his crutches.

Xavier and Roumule have also been making the most of their free time here. Our wonderful team took the pair fishing for a day recently. Despite only catching tiddlers, that they released back into the water, they had a ball. Xavier has spent such a long time dealing with pain that fun hasn’t been high enough on his agenda.

We were incredibly grateful to the generous team from Melbourne Victory who have arranged for our keen young soccer fan to attend a game. He’s incredibly excited just to see the game and we can’t wait to hear his reaction to the A-Lounge at the stadium where he’ll be watching in luxury! However, we know he’ll be even more excited once his prosthetic is fitted to get a chance to kick a ball himself. Without your support none of this would have been possible – thank you for changing this young man’s life.

If you’d like to help more young people like Xavier access treatment that will transform their lives, please donate today.

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