ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
Subscribe
  1. Home
  2. Real Life

They took his foot off and put it on backwards!

Little Max has been so brave... - by That's Life
  • 01 Jun 2017
They took his foot off and put it on backwards!

A little boy has been left with a backwards facing foot after revolutionary surgery to stop his bone from cancer spreading.

Little Max, aged 22 months, is back crawling around after surgeons found an ingenious way to leave him with four working limbs.

When he was only a year old, Max was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his knee and his parents were told that amputation may be the best option to save his life.

...

Little Max before his diagnosis.

'After the first round of chemo, the surgeon, Mark O'Sullivan, came to meet with us,' says Max's mum Julie Ford, 26. 'He said the best course of acton would be rotationplasty.'

This meant that Max's cancerous knee would be removed, along with eight centimetres of his thigh bone and part of his shin bone.

Surgeons would then re-attach the remaining part of his limb backwards - leaving him with his heel at the front, toes pointing back and an ankle joint where his knee used to be.

Held in place with plates and screws, eventually the join would heal. Max would have a short leg but a functioning joint, making it easier to use a prosthetic.

'I didn't know what  to say,' says Julie. 'But I had to place my faith in the doctors.'

So in February this year, Max became the youngest child ever to have rotationplasty at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. 

After the eight-hour operation, Julie and her partner Greg, 29, went in to see Max.

'Peeling back the bed sheets we were curious about his new leg. Although it was much shorter, I wasn't upset seeing his foot backwards. I was just amazed that they'd been able to save my boy,' says Julie.

...

Max with his cast on after the op.

Four months on and Max is still undergoing chemo but is cancer-free. In a few months' time he'll be fitted with a prosthetic.

'He doesn't seem phased by the change,' says Julie. 'He's back to his bubbly self.'

...

Max with his new leg.

For more great real-life stories see issue 23 of that's life Australia - out now!

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to That's Life!

Recommended to you

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis
Watch 0:37

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis

{headline}

{headline}

I turn people into art!

I turn people into art!

Holly the heart hero

Holly the heart hero

30-year heartbreak  - who killed Kerry Turner?

30-year heartbreak - who killed Kerry Turner?

My runny nose was cancer

My runny nose was cancer

{headline}

{headline}

I was paralysed at the beach

I was paralysed at the beach

Horror at the servo - I was abducted and raped

Horror at the servo - I was abducted and raped

My husband forgot I was his wife so we wed twice

My husband forgot I was his wife so we wed twice

{headline}

{headline}

Empty nesters... so we adopted SEVEN kids!

Empty nesters... so we adopted SEVEN kids!

Back from the brink!

Back from the brink!

A cockatoo proposed to me!

A cockatoo proposed to me!

Brave Ellie - 420 days in hospital for a new heart!

Brave Ellie - 420 days in hospital for a new heart!

I woke up with no hands and feet

I woke up with no hands and feet

How chalk found me love!

How chalk found me love!

Gone for 13 minutes – then my boy came back to life!

Gone for 13 minutes – then my boy came back to life!

ThatsLife
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy
ThatsLife Magazine Subscribe
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • New Idea
  • Who
  • Girlfriend
  • Practical Parenting

Our Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • marie claire
  • Beauty Crew
  • New Idea food
  • Women's Weekly Food
  • Bounty Parents
  • Home Beautiful
  • All Recipes
  • 7plus
  • 7News
  • Sunrise
  • Starts at 60
  • The West Australian
  • Perth Now
  • 7mate
  • 7Sport
  • Hard to Find
© 2022 Are Media PTY LTD
All products are independently selected, tested or recommended by our team of experts.If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Get more from

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Shop This Offer
Subscribe to That's Life!