Colton, of Ellis, Kansas, is a three-sometimes-four-sport athlete. He has a competitor’s heart. When he’s been told his prosthetic leg could limit his activities, Colton proves otherwise – every single time.
From the football field, to the wrestling mat, to the golf course, Colton shows his community that anything is possible.
“I like to say that, you know, everybody laughs at me for being different. But I laugh at them for being the same. You’re sticking out for a reason. Go chase your dreams. Anything is possible if you set your mind to it,” said Colton.
When Colton’s mom, Becky, was pregnant, the ultrasound showed something was different about his left leg. They couldn’t determine what it was through those scans. However, they were prepared to care for Colton in a way they hadn’t needed to for his older brother Dakota.
“When he was born, he was born six weeks premature. Until he was born, we didn’t have a definite diagnosis,” Becky explained.
Colton was born with fibular hemimelia, which is the complete or partial absence of your fibula bone.
“I had four toes and my ankle was growing at an abnormal angle, kind of down and out,” explained Colton.
A family friend suggested they travel 530 miles to Shriners Children’s St. Louis for industry-leading pediatric orthopedic care. They took a leap of faith and made an appointment with Perry Schoenecker, M.D.
Becky said he laid out two options: limb lengthening and reconstruction of the left ankle when Colton was 8 or 9 years old, or an amputation and lifetime use of a prosthetic leg.
She and her husband, Jim, chose amputation. They believed Colton would have a better shot at keeping up with his childhood peers, as it would be an immediate change and he would never know life without a prosthetic.
“The hardest part, my husband will say, was handing him over to the nurse on the day of surgery. But, you know, we handed him over. We said a little prayer and the good lord took care of him,” Becky said.
To date, Colton has walked on nine or 10 prosthetic legs – all outfitted for him at Shriners Children’s St. Louis. The team has given him what he needs, medically, to thrive.
