Brave teen participates in the U.S. Paralympics Swimming with prosthetic leg

A patient from Nemours Children’s Hospital in Delaware was part of the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships.
Planning a busy schedule with her mom, 16-year-old Cara Pennington doesn’t let her prosthetic leg slow her down. As a child, a tumor on her spine caused her left leg to become nonfunctional requiring surgeries that led to infections.
“It interfered with everything I did,” she said.
After careful consideration two years ago, the Maryland high school student made a stunning decision to have her leg amputated with the support of her parents.
“It’s given me so much freedom,” Pennington said. “I never would even imagined how much freedom it’s given me.”
Her medical team agreed with Pennington’s reasoning that life with a prosthetic would be better than all the limitations she faced with her leg.
“She had the full support of our team,” said Dr. Jeanne Franzone, Nemours orthopedic surgeon.
Franzone said Pennington’s determination and positive attitude have been inspiring.
“It really speaks to her maturity and her ability to have a set of goals that she’s striving to achieve, swimming really well,” Franzone said.
That was Pennington’s main goal, getting back to competitive swimming that she now does with one leg.
“I try and not take any days off like at all,” she said.
Out of the pool, she relies on the computerized prosthetic that can be outfitted with different shoes.
“I was more excited because I could only wear one type of shoe before,” she said.
Stylish and free, this brave teenager said she’s finally looking forward to a promising future.