Avery Nobile

Avery was diagnosed with fibular hemimelia at birth. Her fibula and tibia were shorter on her right side. As she grew, there was a greater leg length discrepancy. If we were to do nothing about it, she would have had a significant difference (4-5 cm at full maturity).

When Avery was diagnosed, we immediately started the search for the best surgeon to join what we knew would be a long journey with us. We wanted the best of the best when it came to leg lengthening procedures. The search led us to Dr. Roger Widmann and HSS. Dr. Widmann has been following Avery since she was less than a year old. We would travel to HSS annually for checkups and x-rays to track Avery's progress. Finally late last year, we made the decision that it was time to move forward with the lengthening procedure.

Although Avery was a bit on the younger side at age 6, we decided she was ready for the challenge... as were we. It is a true family commitment! The surgery went very smoothly! Dr. Widmann and all of the staff at HSS were phenomenal throughout our stay at the hospital. In fact, Avery was crying at discharge because she did want to leave!! She had the best time with the nurses, Child Life specialists and other patients. They all truly made it as good of an experience as possible.

We were prepared for the worst as Avery woke up with a fixator on her leg and a foot plate holding her ankle in place. We had obviously prepared her but were not sure how she would handle the reality. SHE WAS AWESOME! She woke up happy and ready to start moving. 1 day post surgery she was up weight bearing and walking around with the assist of a walker. Minus 2 pin infections, the recovery has gone really well. She is walking without a walker, swimming in the pool, swinging on the swings and dancing around just like her usual self. She has not let it slow her down one bit!

Dr Widmann has been awesome. He always takes the time to answer our never ending questions during appointments and has been extremely responsive via email in between appointments. We trust him and the rest of the staff at HSS 150% and couldn't be happier with how things have gone so far.

THANK YOU TO DR WIDMANN AND EVERYONE AT HSS for supporting us throughout this journey! We are so confident that Avery will be back in the game very soon skiing, dancing and playing sports better than ever!!