2023-12-25 21:29:46
By Martha Williams For Dailymail.Com
21:29 25 Dec 2023, updated 22:18 25 Dec 2023
- The accident took place eight months ago and left Aubrey Scaletta, 7, severely injured
- After six surgeries and physical therapy – Aubrey was finally able to join her twin sister on stage again to dance in the classic Christmas ballet
A seven-year-old girl performed a Christmas miracle by dancing in The Nutcracker after recovering from an accident that left her without feet just months earlier.
For the past two years, Aubrey Scaletta and her twin sister Grayson have performed in the classic Christmas ballet The Nutcracker together in Roanoke, Virginia.
But this year it was unclear if Aubrey would be able to join her sister on stage after she suffered a severe accident just eight months earlier.
The brutal accident left the young girl without feet and caused her to undergo surgery six times to re-attach her feet, ABC reported.
Adamant to participate in the production for the third year in a row, Aubrey even managed to perform without her wheelchair after months of doubt about whether she would ever walk again.
A seven-year-old girl performed a Christmas miracle by dancing in The Nutcracker after recovering from an accident that left her without feet just months earlier For the past two years – Aubrey Scaletta and her twin sister Grayson have performed in the classic Christmas ballet The Nutcracker together in Roanoke, Virginia This year it was unclear if Aubrey would be able to join her sister on stage after she suffered a severe accident just eight months earlier
‘This is her and her sister’s third year, so I think going into it… she had no question in her mind that it was happening,’ Lauren Scaletta told Good Morning America.
‘She was in a wheelchair but she really wanted to do the parts with her feet, so being able to do it with a walker, she was just ecstatic.’
Aubrey’s very supportive and loyal twin sister Grayson, who their parents described as her ‘protector’, gave up dancing during Aubrey’s recovery.
When Aubrey finally returned to dance – Grayson joined her too.
The incident took place when tragedy struck as Aubrey’s father Daniel Scaletta was driving her home from Gymnastics in May.
The young girl was playing with a ratchet strap – which is usually used to tie down cargo. She had one end tied around her feet and the other end flew out of the window and wrapped around the truck’s axle.
The freak accident left Aubrey in huge amounts of pain, according to her father. ‘There was a loud bang and the whole truck shuddered and Aubrey yelled, “I’m bleeding,”‘ Scaletta recalled. ‘I turned around and looked and saw her injuries.’
Scaletta was only three miles away from a hospital – so he rushed Aubrey there immediately. But because of the severity of her injuries, she was transported to a larger hospital by helicopter.
Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital had a pediatric level one trauma center where Aubrey underwent an initial re-attachment surgery the very same day.
The brutal accident left the young girl without feet and caused her to undergo surgery six times to re-attach her feet Adamant to participate in the production for the third year in a row – Aubrey even managed to perform without her wheelchair after months of doubt about whether she would ever walk again
Medical staff said that such a surgery would typically take days to prepare and they did it all in 15 minutes.
‘We had to operate quickly to re-establish blood flow and reattach her feet to her legs,’ Dr. Peter Apel, the orthopedic surgeon who led the surgery said. ‘If we would have waited even a few hours, the feet would have died and most certainly would have been amputated.’
The first surgery to attach her feet was successful – but up until October it was unclear whether the results would last.
Aubrey’s mother said ‘after the first surgery, there was a lot of question about her right leg being able to make it because it sustained a lot of damage to the veins. And then as we progressed, it was like, “Okay, well, we made it after this hurdle. We made it through this hurdle. We’re looking better.”‘
Her father said that there was uncertainty all summer about Aubrey’s recovery. ‘If you’d asked me back in September if we would be where we’re at today, I would have never ever guessed it. The last few months have just been amazing in her healing process,’ Scaletta said.
Aubrey went through six rounds of surgery – including multiple skin grafts to use her healthy skin to cover the skin she lost or damaged in the accident.
She began physical therapy in October and was finally able to put weight on her feet for the first time since the accident happened eight months ago.
The seven-year-old was finally able to return to school in the fall – where she used a wheelchair to get around.
At first – she had casts on both of her legs, but eventually she got the bandages removed – which Aubrey’s mother Lauren Scaletta said made her daughter nervous because she was worried about having to return to school and have her peers see her legs.
Aubrey’s parents assured her that she had nothing to be afraid of became ‘your scars are just part of you.’
Being able to perform in The Nutcracker was an incredible moment for Aubrey after many months of uncertainty and anxiety, her father said. ‘I think it was a big confidence boost to her.
Her father said that there was uncertainty all summer about Aubrey’s recovery. ‘If you’d asked me back in September if we would be where we’re at today, I would have never ever guessed it. The last few months have just been amazing in her healing process,’ Scaletta said
‘She loves it, and we’re just very thankful she could get back to the point to be up there and to be dancing and doing what she loves.
‘Being twins, the first time they ever spent apart was with Aubrey in the hospital, so that was a big adjustment,’ he said.
‘To see them dance together again, was just unbelievable.’
‘It’s hard to say you can take a breath and breathe and relax a little bit because we’re constantly worried, but it’s amazing we’re to the point that we can focus on Christmas and enjoy it and have this time together,’ Mr Scaletta said.
‘Everything had to go right for us to be where we’re at now.’
Aubrey will need more surgeries in the future – once she’s done growing, according to doctors.
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