Mum Christina Forster raises awareness for her twin son’s condition tibial hemimelia

Christina Forster said she is preparing for the day one of her twin baby boys asks her “why me?” after a rare condition left him without a leg.

Rufio West (right), who was born with a congenital birth defect, with his identical twin brother Alfie West (left). Picture: Supplied

Rufio and Alfie West are playful 18-month-old identical twins.

Not many people would be able to tell the loveable pair apart, except for the fact little Rufio was born with a congenital birth defect which saw his right leg amputated three months ago.

“His brother Alfie likes to try and pull his prosthetic leg off,” his mum Christina Forster told The Advertiser.

“It doesn’t upset (Rufio) that Alfie can do things a bit quicker at this stage and easier, he just does things in his own way.

“Nothing is going to hold him back.”

Rufio West underwent surgery in September to amputate his leg. Picture: Supplied

Prior to the surgery he did not have any bone in his leg. Picture: Supplied

The 33-year-old said she was told about her son’s birth defect when she was 20-weeks pregnant.

“They said there might be an issue with one of the twin’s legs,” she said.

The day after the twins were born doctors told Ms Forster Rufio had tibial hemimelia, which in his case meant his tibia bone was completely absent with an unstable knee and ankle joint.

“They said it was less than one in a million,” she said.

Rufio was required to have his right leg amputated to his knee when he was 15 months old.

“Before the amputation he couldn’t hold any weight through the right leg whatsoever,” Ms Forster, who is a former nurse, said.

“It just hung there because it had no bone.”

Rufio’s mum Christina discovered he had the condition when she was 20-weeks pregnant. Picture: Supplied

Rufio will likely need to have two new prosthetic legs a year as he continues to grow. Picture: Supplied

In September of this year, Rufio underwent the amputation surgery.

“As a parent you can’t even imagine being told that your one-year-old son is going to have his leg amputated,” she said.

“It’s a form of grief and shock — I don’t think you could ever be prepared for it.”

Ms Forster said she knows there will be a day where Rufio will ask her “why him?”

“I still have those moments where I think, why him and why us?” she said.

“I feel very grateful that it’s just his leg and there’s lots of families going through lots of worse things and hard times as well.”

Rufio’s brother Alfie enjoys trying to pull off Rufio’s leg. Picture: Supplied

The Largs North full-time mum said the family is “learning as they go” about Rufio’s condition as he continues to grow up.

“We’ve been told he’ll need at least two new prosthetic legs every year as he grows, which is at least $10,000 to $15,000 roughly per year, which NDIS do help with covering costs,” she said.

“Then ongoing physio and hydrotherapy to build those muscles back up in the future.

“We are also hoping to save for a waterproof leg in the next year or so because Rufio loves swimming.

“We’re still learning as we go and he’s still so young.”

What they do know is Rufio will take on any challenge that is in his way.

Originally published as Mum Christina Forster raises awareness for her twin son’s condition tibial hemimelia