OUR TOT'S FIRST NEW FOOTSTEPS

Willow melts hearts as she walks on false limb

- KATIE PEARSON

BRAVE Willow Dodding beams with happiness as she takes her first steps on her prosthetic foot.

The one-year-old’s limb was removed just months earlier due to a birth defect, detected during a routine scan.

Willow had been diagnosed with fibular hemimelia, where part of a major bone is missing in the lower leg.

So parents Charlotte and James Dodding, both 27, were delighted to catch on camera the first time she tried out her artificial foot.

Charlotte said: “She’s so determined and resilient – nothing fazes her.”

The couple found out they were expecting Willow, their first child, in November 2018.

At the 20-week scan, doctors broke the news that the baby had no fibular bone in her right leg.

They were told to “wait and see” how bad the problem was before deciding on the best course of treatment.

Charlotte said: “It was quite a shock to get that news. There’s no reason for it, it was just a random mutation.”