A beautiful girl named Aurora Cairo from Texas, affectionately known as Rory, does what many little girls do: run, play, laugh, play with her friends–all without a care in the world. There’s only one thing that’s different with Rory than with most girls her age, she has a prosthetic leg. But that one leg won’t slow her down. Nope, not one bit.
In fact, because of her “can-do” attitude, she has been hailed as an inspiration as she defies her disability by excelling in running, swimming and gymnastics.
Rory was born with Fibular Hemimelia (FH), a rare birth defect that prevented her right leg from fully developing and led to her foot being amputated.
Fibular hemimelia occurs in only 1 in 40,000 births. Bilateral fibular hemimelia (affecting both legs) is even more rare.
It is currently unknown why fibular hemimelia occurs. Research has demonstrated that if the genes guiding the formation of the limb are activated in an abnormal order, fibular hemimelia can occur. Other studies have demonstrated that isolated mutations of genes in the forming limb bud can lead to fibular hemimelia.
The vast majority of children born with this condition have no family history of other birth defects. Although genetic abnormalities are linked to FH, the condition is not hereditary.
Since getting her first prosthesis, Rory’s mother Kayla Moore says that she literally “runs everywhere!”
Her father, Javon Cairo, is also super proud of his little one stealing hearts with her beautiful smile. He says, she has “accomplished a lot this year” after joining the Kinetic Kids Program where she does gymnastics and swimming.