SPOKANE, Wash. — Five-year-old Jaslynn Gonzales walks confidently through the hallways of Shriners Hospital, her black Mary Jane shoes with glitter straps catching the light with each step. The determined soon-to-be kindergartener radiates joy as she shows off her favorite footwear.
Jaslynn “Jazzie” has celebrated many milestones in these hallways, including taking her first steps with specialists in the hospital’s Pediatric Orthotic and Prosthetic Services (POPS) department.
“When she was born, she had gone through a lot of trauma with surgeries,” said Clint Hastings, a licensed orthotist-prosthetist (LPO) at Shriners. “The hospital was a very scary place for her because she associated that to all of the trauma to help with some of these congenital abnormalities that she was dealing with.”
Jazzie was born with VACTERL syndrome. VACTERL is a rare condition that impacts major parts of the body, including the spine, heart, kidneys and limbs.
“Her feet were basically club-foot-like, we tried to cast them for multiple casts, and we just were unsuccessful with casting, and so we decided to do these amputations on her,” said pediatric orthopedic surgeon Ted Sousa, M.D.
Meeting Jazzie at the hospital however, it would be tough to distinguish any fear as she calmly led the way from room to room during her checkup.
“She’s going to kindergarten, she did Head Start, she loved it,” said her mom Dora Gonzales, their family lives in Helena, Montana. “She’s a brilliant little girl, for all that she’s been through she’s very brilliant.”
Gonzales said keeping up with Jazzie is a tough task, even without her forearm crutches.
“They really took care of her, her little friends and her classmates. She would not use her sticks, and they’d go, ‘Jazzie here’s your sticks,’ she’d say, ‘I don’t want my sticks, I don’t need my sticks,’ and she’ll walk around the classroom,” Gonzales said. “Without her prosthetics she moves even faster.”
This was a surprise, even for Hastings, as Jazzie demonstrated walking with one crutch, and then handing both to her mom.
“To take those first steps can be pretty traumatic for some kids because their sense of balance is a little different,” Hastings said.
Jazzie will eventually need surgery on her knees and another on her spine. This year though her team at Shriners decided they’ll hold off, to allow Jazzie time to transition back-to-school with her new classmates.
“All these kids are different, and we have to evaluate them individually, and they get to show us what they’re able to do,” said her surgeon Dr. Sousa.
Smiling alongside Ginny, the Shriners Children’s Spokane facility dog, the rhinestone buckles on Jazzie’s shiny black shoes sparkle again as she heads home with her mom.
“It can be a place of joy, because you know she’s able to walk and use her prosthetics and functionally do things that all other kids are able to do,” Hastings said.
Jazzie’s story is one of many we’ll be sharing leading up to the 4 News Now Caring 4 Kids Telethon on September 4th. Shriners Children’s Spokane is a regional leader in pediatric orthopedics providing care to 9,200 children in our region. The hospital provides a wide variety of care for treatment of fractures, orthopedic injuries and prosthetic services. Shriners Children’s Spokane is committed to providing the best care, regardless of a family’s insurance status or ability to pay. Please visit kxly.com/shriners to donate today.
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