MELROSE, Mass. —
Seven years ago, Jill Feeney and her husband made the agonizing decision to amputate their son’s right leg below the knee.
Ryan Feeney, of Melrose, was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) and tibial dysplasia.
After a rod surgery failed before his first birthday, they felt the amputation would give their son the best chance of a normal life.
“He just bounced back and has been moving ever since,” Jill Feeney said.
The Born to Run Foundation presented its seventh prosthesis donation, a running blade, to Feeney on Thursday during basketball practice at the fourth grade Melrose Recreational League.
Ryan Feeney with prosthesis
With his new running blade, Ryan will play soccer, basketball and tackle football.
The foundation was founded by Noelle Lambert, 23 of Manchester, New Hampshire, who lost her leg in a moped accident on Martha’s Vineyard in 2016.
She is a former Division 1 college athlete who played lacrosse at the UMass Lowell and established the foundation to help young amputees obtain specialized athletic prosthetic devices so that they can live fulfilling lives.
Lambert is now a member of the U.S. Paralympic team and is currently training for the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo in the 100-meter race in Track and Field.