The Hearts of Camp No Limits

“Never say never” and “There’s no T in can” are Ciara Brown’s go-to quotes for motivation and determination! Ciara is a 13 year old congenital amputee, who lost her legs due to Amniotic Band Syndrome in the womb. Her parents found out about her condition really late because in Ireland, where Ciara is from, her diagnosis was extremely rare. Even today, she still has to frequently travel or do things virtually in order to get proper care and support. 

When she was three, Ciara had the opportunity to fly to Florida in order to get fitted for her first pair of prosthetics! Another condition she has is called Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency, which means that her femur bone is either malformed or missing. This caused issues while trying to get well-fit prosthetics. There was a lot of stress, uncertainty and confusion with how to make this work, but nonetheless, they knew there was a solution- it would just take some brain power!

As a way to relax and de-stress from all the complications on that trip, Ciara and her family went to the movies and watched Dolphin Tale. At that moment, they had no idea how this would change their lives, but it did…in a BIG way! Some of the tools and techniques used in Winter the Dolphin’s prosthetic care could help Ciara fix the issues with her own prosthetics… AMAZING! After the movie, Ciara kept saying how she wanted to be just like Winter, so her parents reached out to Kevin Carroll to ask for help, since he was the mastermind behind Winter’s prosthetic tail creation. As soon as they could, they made it up to Florida to get her new legs. They were there for about two weeks, and Kevin said she’d walk for Christmas. On Christmas Day, when she was three, she was walking for the first time! Her cousin was screaming “she’s walking, she’s walking!”.

That interaction with Hanger Clinic was what introduced Ciara and her family to Camp No Limits. She hasn’t been able to attend many Camps, because she’s from Ireland, but she was able to participate in every single virtual camp during Covid, which was amazing! Her mom says that this opportunity has really allowed Ciara to grow and gain confidence and stay connected with other kids, just like her! Other activities she’s been involved with have been horseback riding and playing the ukulele, and she even got to play at her school’s graduation. Ciara, you’re an inspiration to us all, continuing to stay determined and crushing your goals, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for you in the future!

Post written by Bella Tucker