My Ankle Is My Knee

A BEAUTY queen has had cutting-edge surgery to allow her to use her ankle as her knee after having part of her leg amputated. Jillian Williams, 20, from Odem, Texas, was a contestant in the glamorous world of Miss Teen USA beauty pageants and a talented college volleyball player. But her world came crashing down in February last year when she was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma - a rare type of bone cancer. To minimise the possibility of relapse, she opted for a 'rotationplasty', a procedure which required surgeons to remove the middle portion of her leg. The foot, ankle and shin were then rotated 180 degrees and reattached to her upper leg to act as her knee joint - which then slips into a prosthetic lower leg. Jillian is now hopeful for the future and dreams of being the first amputee Miss Texas and representing the American national team in Paralympic volleyball.

Videographer / director: Ruaridh Connellan
Producer: Nora Hakramaj, Ruby Coote
Editor: James Thorne