13-year-old west Michigan girl has leg amputated
8:59 AM, May. 20, 2011
[snip]
Alyssia's problems began at birth, when she inherited a rare congenital disorder known as pterygium syndrome, characterized by a buildup of dense scar tissue that can affect the pelvis on down. In Alyssia's case, that thickening tissue was gradually strangling the arteries and nerves in her leg.
The disease could be linked to radiation her biological mother possibly suffered after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, close to where Alyssia was born.....
"In this May 7, 2011, photo, art instructor Angie Briggs Johnson shows 13-year-old Alyssia Crook how to apply paint to the canvas using her left leg and foot as a part of her art therapy session at the home of Briggs Johnson in Hudsonville. Crook's left foot and part of her left leg will be amputated May 19, 2011, due to pterygium syndrome, a congenital disease. / The Grand Rapids Press/AP"
