So long crutches: Springvale South’s Sonal De Mel is taking leaps and bounds towards standing unaided after corrective surgery on his legs.By Shaun Inguanzo
SONAL De Mel used to play football on his ‘tippy-toes’.
But after corrective sur-gery allowing him to bend his feet into a walking position the 10-year-old Springvale South boy is looking forward to kicking goals like Collingwood hero Anthony Rocca.
Sonal suffers from spina bifida, an underdevelopment of vertebrae during pregnancy that causes the spine to bend and in some cases the spinal cord to be exposed.
Sonal’s mum Sonia said her son’s spina bifida wasn’t painful, but had damaged nerves that limited his legs’ movement.
She said for many years Sonal’s feet were ‘locked’ into a downward position and he could only stand on his toes.
“When he was born, the doctors told us he would never walk,” she said.
But Sonal has overcome the predictions after surgery last September and this February allowed him to place his feet firmly, and flatly, on the ground.
Sonal now undergoes physiotherapy and hydrotherapy at Monash Medical Centre to develop strength in his lower back and legs that will allow him to walk without crutches.
When Sonal throws away his walking aids, he has already planned what he will be doing.
“I want to play footy,” he said.
“I used to be able to play on my tippy toes.
“But now I need stronger muscles in my lower back.”
