Double amputation can’t stop little Jett Wortley’s zest for life, including playing footy for the Aldinga Sharks

Feet might seem like a prerequisite to play footy, but a double amputation before his first birthday couldn’t keep this Adelaide youngster off the field.

Jett Wortley is like any other 11-year-old South Aussie.

He loves footy, playing basketball as well as mucking around with his friends and three brothers — Indy, 19, Izaih, 14 and Declan 3.

Jett is also a double amputee.

The Aldinga Beach youngster was born with a condition called bilateral fibular hemimelia — a defect whereby the fibula bone in both his legs was missing.

The fibula is a long, thin bone in the lower leg that runs parallel to the tibia and the two come together to form part of the ankle joint.

Aldinga under-12 footballer Jett Wortley, had his feet amputated when he was 10 months old. He has wooden stumps and can still play footy and basketball. Picture: Dean Martin

Jett Wortley when he was four years old. Picture: Supplied

As Jett did not have a fibula, his ankles, feet and toes did not develop properly and his feet were amputated when he was 10 months old.

But Jett, a fun-loving, energetic boy, refuses to let having no feet get in the way of him living a normal life.

At 13-months old he was walking with stumps and sometimes, prosthetic legs.

He also took up football when he was five and this year joined Aldinga Sharks’ under-12 black team after spending the past few years lining up with Noarlunga’s junior sides.

Jett uses his condition as motivation and hopes to inspire others with a strong, but simple outlook on life — “I just want to show people that you can do anything,” he says.

“You can achieve anything, no matter how you look.

“I’m as normal as any other normal kid.

Double amputee and Aldinga footballer Jett Wortley with his teammate and best friend Nathan Sywak. Picture: Dean Martin

“I love playing basketball and video games and messing around with my friends.

“But (with stumps) you either stand up and fall, or stand up and just walk.

“It took me about two years to learn how to balance, but it’s fun.

“Learning to kick the footy was actually probably one of the easiest things.

“The best thing about playing footy is that you get to play with your friends.”

Jett’s mother, Michelle Clark, said her son’s condition was revealed during her 20-week pregnancy scan.

She can still recall what went through her mind.

“I was devastated but also scared of the unknown,” Ms Clark says.

“It was just the unknown, I guess, but now that he’s here, he’s just completely normal and it’s really not a big deal.”

After having X-rays at two-weeks old, Jett then underwent surgery to amputate his feet at 10 months old.

He has never needed any further medical attention or surgery since.

Ms Clark says having family and friends treat Jett like normal is behind his positive attitude.

“We’ve never wrapped him in cotton wool.

“He’s not going to grow feet, so he’s just got to get on with it and he has.

“We’ve never made an issue of it.

“His older brothers played footy and my terms of letting him play were exactly like they were for my other kids.

“He’s not going to break and he’s exactly the same as the other boys.

“He loved kicking the footy with his brothers growing up and he did used to wear his (prosthetic) legs a bit more but they get in the way.

“He’s out here playing footy because of his mates more than anything and to fit in and be part of it.”

But there has been some rough times as Ms Clark admits people can sometimes be cruel.

“I’m sure it is hard on him even though he says it’s not.

Double amputee Jett Wortley using prosthetic legs to ride a bike when he was five years old. Picture: Supplied

“When he was little he would say ‘I hope Santa brings me feet,’ and that was absolutely devastating.

“It was hard as he was growing up and we would go to parks and everyone would stare.

“At first it really took a toll but now it’s absolutely nothing.

“He’s happy and he makes the best of what he’s got.

“Jett sometimes tells kids a shark bit his feet off but that’s just his way of dealing with it.

“He’s also made a really good group of friends at Aldinga Primary and they don’t treat him any different.

“His brothers treat him normal, they pick on him and they’ve loved him from day one.”

Ms Clark says Jett is an inspiration to her.

“He doesn’t do the ‘why me?’ — but I’ve sort of been like ‘why my poor son?’

“He’s not disabled, he’s differently-abled, that’s the wording I like to use.

“He’s been a trooper since day one, is happy and easy going.

“He has made my life a better place.

“I think Jett was given to me for a reason, he’s made me stronger and I’ve been the mum that he needed instead of holding him back, I’ve let him go and get it.”

Aldinga’s under-12 black coach Leigh Sywak says players love having Jett in the team.

“It’s fantastic for a kid to come out and play and want to be part of it through his adversities takes a lot of courage,” Sywak says.

“The other kids are just stoked to have him out here with them.

“He’s just having a red hot crack at it even though he’s lacking in things that others take for granted.”