Story of how kids reacted after girl enters class on prosthetic leg for 1st time still melts hearts

Amelia Eldred is a girl from Tamworth, Staffordshire, who was diagnosed with bone cancer and, in 2017, got the lower part of her leg amputated.

At the age of seven, Amelia had already gone through more than what most people deal with in their entire lives. After the heartbreaking diagnose and the initial surgery, Amelia underwent a rare procedure called rotationplasty.

Rotationplasty is a functional surgery used as a reconstructive option for children of growing age. As the name suggests, it consists on rotating the lower leg 180 degrees and reattaching it to the proximal femur, giving the appearance of a short leg with the foot backward.

Thanks to that procedure, the patient will be able to wear a more functional and customized prosthesis. When Amelia was eight – about a year after the surgery – it was time for her to go back to school with her new prosthetic leg.

BBC News uploaded her classmates’ reaction. When she walked her way through the classroom, all children said “Hello” but seemed somehow shy. When the teacher said “children, don’t be shy,” a girl stood up and hugged Amelia.

A second girl joined, and then a third one. A few seconds later, the entire class was in the middle of the room hugging Amelia. Her face showed nothing but joy, especially when a classmate shared a few words about her.

“To go through all this, and she’s got this far. I think she’s amazing, aren’t you?” said the boy, to what Amelia replied, “yes, I guess,” laughing and smiling. Another student added, “you’re a superstar, aren’t you?” and Amelia shyly said “yeah,” again.

Amelia is not the only girl who became an internet sensation over her prosthetic leg. Michael Mack Jr. got her leg amputated at the age of 11 months, so he has been using prostheses for a long time, replacing them every year due to his growth.

For the one he got when he was 10 years old, his mother hired Milton Purnell of Tattoo Supreme in Raleigh, who is also an amputee, to design it inspired by “Black Panther,” and the result, along with Michael’s reaction, was priceless.