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Girl With Prosthetic Leg Receives Matching Doll

Sarah Czapp of Wheeling shows off her prosthetic leg while posing with her newly amputated American Girl doll, Torey. Torey received a prosthetic leg from A Step Ahead Prosthetics in New York, so now Sarah has a doll that is truly just like her. Photos Provided

Sarah Czapp of Wheeling finally has a doll just like her.

For her 4th birthday last October, Sarah’s grandpa bought her a coveted American Girl doll, with curly blond hair and hazel eyes just like Sarah’s. But the doll, whom she named Torey, differed from its new owner in a significant way: Torey had two legs. Sarah was born with just one.

Sarah’s parents, George and Jocelyn Czapp, thought that because American Girl promotes its dolls as being “just like” their owners, the company might swap the doll’s leg out for a miniature prosthetic. Their request was heard but no immediate action was taken.

Sarah loved Torey anyway, of course. But then in June, a video of a girl receiving a modified American Girl doll with prosthetics went viral.

“I watched it and of course sobbed my eyes out,” said Jocelyn Czapp, noting the girl’s reaction was priceless. “I found the company (who did it) and called them immediatley. They put me directly to the girl in charge.”

The Czapp family of Warwood, from left: Eli, George, Jocelyn, Sarah (with Torey) and Garrett, with their puppy, Willow.

The company, A Step Ahead Prosthetics in New York, provides the doll modification for free to anyone with a child who has an amputation.

A statement on the company website says: “We are NOT charging for the customization; we feel that it is absolutely crucial to boost the self-confidence, self-esteem, and feelings of inclusion for little girls with limb loss, and that something as small as a doll that resembles them can have a profound effect on their mental and physical well-being.”

Jocelyn said: “They told me it’s all free ‘because you have enough on your plate with medical costs with children that are amputated and this is our gift to you.'” It didn’t matter, Jocelyn added, that Sarah’s prosthetic is made by a different company.

Sarah picked out a glittery pink prosthetic for Torey from A Step Ahead’s website, then got her doll ready for the trip through the mail to “the hospital in New York.”

“We got her dressed and did her hair and packed her in her original American Girl doll box. Then we took her to the post office and shipped her off,” Jocelyn said, along with a letter about Sarah’s experiences.

No one knows why Sarah was born without her left leg with her left foot extending from her abdomen. After the foot was amputated, she received her first prosthesis early in 2013 and has been fitted with others as she has grown. She has suffered a variety of other medical challenges, including the shrinking and eventual dissolving of her right kidney. But today, Sarah takes dance, swims, rides a bike and is active like her brothers, Garrett, 10 and Eli, 7.

After about a month in “the hospital,” Torey arrived home at the end of June.

When Sarah opened the box, “she was kind of embarrassed at first,” Jocelyn said. But while Sarah loved Torey before, the two are now inseparable.

The Czapp family of Warwood, from left: Eli, George, Jocelyn, Sarah (with Torey) and Garrett, with their puppy, Willow.

“I asked her, ‘How come Torey gets to go everywhere?’ She said, ‘Because she’s me, Mom. She looks like me.'”

Sarah enjoys showing others how Torey’s leg comes off, just like hers. She can’t wait to take it to school next month.

“Sarah’s very open about not having a leg. She’s very much ‘God made me this way,'” Jocelyn said. “Sarah’s accepted herself the way she is, and now the doll is perfect the way she is … They’re two of a kind basically,” Jocelyn said.

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