Ballet dancer appeals for special prosthetic foot

Christopher Hope appeals for an  ‘en pointe’ prosthetic foot for his amputee daughter Pollyanna Hope. His appeal on Twitter has gone viral with over 240 people replying to his request. For his 15-year-old daughter, Pollyanna, Christopher Hope wishes to find a new prosthetic leg that will allow her to dance gracefully on the tips of her toes. The 13-year-old lost her leg in an awful bus crash when she was only two years of age – a misfortune that injured her mother Sarah and caused the death of her grandma Elizabeth – however, pollyanna has always wanted to stand on her tip-toes just like other ballet dancers so, now she performs on a running blade. By getting a leg with a foot out in the pointe position, Pollyanna would have the option to go en pointe on the two legs.

On Monday (11 January), Christopher released the appeal with a video of his daughter pirouetting, asking the platform: “Can anybody help?” Would you be able to make a prosthetic leg with the foot fixed in the pointe form of our 15-year-old amputee girl so that she can do pointe work on it? “. From here on out, his post has been retweeted several times, alongside many inspiring messages of support, and numerous tips from experts who might be able to facilitate Pollyanna.”Christopher said, speaking of the reaction to his appeal: “Social media is getting such a bad rep, [but the reaction] is an indicator that there are genuinely good people out there who want to help. It hit a chord that was really nice.”

Pollyanna Hope was compelled to take matters into her own hands and furiously started to fashion her own ballet pointe shoe, determined to fulfill her dream of being a ballerina despite a disability. She attached it to her prosthetic leg, took a plastic cup and some tape, and matter-of-factly began to dance around the room. Pollyanna may have lost her leg, but she never gave up and her dancing did not end. After 21 operations and more than 20 prosthetics over the past decade, Pollyanna has always refused to let her condition hold her back, but the ballet world is unforgiving and she recalls one incredibly tough moment. “I got marks off during my ballet examination because I didn’t point my foot,” Pollyanna says. Pollyanna Hope was compelled to take matters into her own hands and furiously started to fashion her own ballet pointe shoe, determined to fulfill her dream of being a ballerina despite a disability. She attached it to her prosthetic leg, took a plastic cup and some tape, and matter-of-factly began to dance around the room. Pollyanna may have lost her leg, but she never gave up and her dancing did not end. After 21 operations and more than 20 prosthetics over the past decade, Pollyanna has always refused to let her condition hold her back, but the ballet world is unforgiving and she recalls one incredibly tough moment. “I got marks off during my ballet examination because I didn’t point my foot,” Pollyanna says. “When you don’t have a foot, it’s quite hard to point your foot.”

Pollyanna, who has been performing since she was four, previously took part in the TV show The Big Life Fix, a program that presented people in need with life-changing solutions. Yusuf Muhammad, the inventor, and engineer designed a foot that allowed the ballerina to dance on a demi-pointe. Her father told the BBC that the demi-pointe foot she currently has is “quite clunky and heavy.” Now, the teenager needs to be able to get all of her legs up and down. And with the support of the wonderful Internet people, here’s the hope that she will.