A schoolgirl with severely bowed legs had life-changing surgery to straighten them - and it made her 14cm taller.
Fudia, 10, was born with a progressive orthopedic condition that worsened over time and caused her feet to turn inwards at a 90-degree angle.
It made it extremely difficult and painful for her to walk and she was bullied for her difference.
Local hospitals rejected her until eventually her uncle and guardian, Joseph, realised his last hope was surgery by Mercy Ships - an international hospital charity.
He and Fudia moved to Freetown, Sierra Leone, so they could get help the next time Mercy Ships docked there - and waited for six years until it returned in 2023.
Fudia, 10, was born with a progressive orthopedic condition that worsened over time and caused her feet to turn inwards at a 90-degree angle.
It made it extremely difficult and painful for her to walk and she was bullied for her difference.
Local hospitals rejected her until eventually her uncle and guardian, Joseph, realised his last hope was surgery by Mercy Ships - an international hospital charity.
He and Fudia moved to Freetown, Sierra Leone, so they could get help the next time Mercy Ships docked there - and waited for six years until it returned in 2023.
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FunTranscript
00:00When I was born, I was born in Futsi, not in Futsi, but in Tumman.
00:14This was the very first day when I was born.
00:18Well, I know they feel fine, but I began to believe, they say, if life is there, we must
00:24meet up.
00:25The Cardinals say, yes, we must come.
00:28My father passed away in 2019.
00:33He was with me before my mother passed away.
00:37When my mother passed away, my father passed away.
00:40He went to work.
00:42So, now we are all with my mother.
00:44She is no longer with us.
00:46So, we are ready to go now.
00:48She left to give me food.
00:52The school where I was born,
00:55the first school I went to,
00:58a company ran away from me.
01:00So, they didn't let me go to school again.
01:03I went there, I sent the other school back, and it was the same thing.
01:07So, even when I went back to Connauts,
01:09they told me,
01:11well, the doctor won't let you go, but he will send you back.
01:14Don't wait until the Master Chief comes.
01:16So, they made me come.
01:18So, I have been with them for six years.
01:21They are no longer with me now.
01:25I think Fudja's life has been tough.
01:28Fudja has a challenging family situation,
01:32in which she has lost her parents,
01:34and she is raised by other family members.
01:38So, for a part,
01:40she might have been grieving for the loss of her parents,
01:43and maybe grieving for the fact that she lost her father.
01:46So, for a part,
01:48she might have been grieving for the loss of her parents,
01:51and maybe grieving for the fact that she lost her father.
01:54And maybe grieving for the fact that she was not a normal child.
01:59She was not a happy child that you are supposed to be for her age.
02:02And sometimes, even children with the same deformity as her,
02:06you can still see some joy in their eyes.
02:08And I felt with Fudja,
02:10that for her, life has really been a struggle up to this point.
02:14Fudja's legs are so deformed,
02:17that her ability to walk is really limited.
02:20Her feet really point inside, 90 degrees.
02:26That limits the amount that she can walk.
02:30She's always limiting the activities that she does with other people,
02:34because she's ashamed.
02:36Not only she cannot walk,
02:38but she socially is not interacting like other children.
02:42So, hopefully, by making her legs straighter,
02:45putting her feet pointing forward,
02:48she will also open her social skills and her heart.
02:54So, it's a big surgery.
02:58She's going to be under general anesthetic for many hours,
03:02and she's going to have long leg casts for many weeks.
03:07So, it'll be a long process.
03:10It's a big commitment from her side as well,
03:13to rehabilitate and learn to walk again,
03:17with your feet pointing in the right direction.
03:23There's something about her.
03:25When she experiences some things,
03:27you can really say, wow, this girl had to fight for her life.
03:33Well, after almost four weeks of being in the bed and being in the chair,
03:40Fudja, today, can do her first steps with the walker.
03:44We are all very excited, we're all Fudja fans!
03:59It's beautiful.
04:00It's a blessing to be able to see a life change so much
04:03from a child that has had pain in her eyes,
04:06not even when she had physical pain,
04:08she just sometimes had pain in her eyes because she went through stuff.
04:12And then now, to see her and to come up to her,
04:15and you hear her little giggles and the joy in her eyes,
04:18it's been everything.
04:23This girl, she's got energy, she's got life,
04:25she's got determination.
04:27She's proved herself with resilience time and time again.
04:31You could say Fudja's name on the ship,
04:34and almost everybody would know who you're talking about.
04:36And that's a testament to how she brought people together
04:41and how she smiled.
04:43Yeah, it's those changes that are the most tangible.
04:46I mean, you can look at a picture
04:48and see these beautiful straight legs,
04:50but for me, what stands out is her affect in her face.
04:55She was carrying a lot before,
04:57and you can see she's light, she's free.
05:00And I think she's going places.