Courtesy of Maddie Brush/Instagram
‘Sister Wives’ Star Maddie Brown’s Daughter Evie’s Limb Difference: Diagnosis, Quotes, More
Not slowing down. Sister Wives star Maddie Brown and husband Caleb Brush made the difficult decision to amputate daughter Evie’s foot after she was born with a limb difference. Keep reading for details on Evie’s diagnosis, amputation and more.
What Is Maddie Brown’s Daughter’s Diagnosis?
“Our beautiful baby daughter Evie has been diagnosed with FATCO syndrome,” the reality star shared in October 2019, just two months after her birth. “It’s a rare medical syndrome where bones in extremities do not fully develop.”
According to the National Institutes of Health website, fibular aplasia, tibial campomelia and oligosyndactyly syndrome (FATCO) is a “genetic, congenital limb malformation syndrome.”
What Has Maddie Brown Said About Evie’s Condition?
“This is one of the hardest things that Caleb and I have gone through and the decision to share almost as difficult, but after a lot of consideration, we realized that it’s the best thing for our daughter and there is a chance it may help other parents who may also be struggling,” Maddie shared alongside a photo of her infant daughter in October 2019.
Maddie went on to say that she and Caleb were informed that Evie may have “some abnormalities” prior to her birth.
“It wasn’t a complete surprise,” she continued. “We knew something was wrong when we went in for a routine anatomy ultrasound at 26 weeks and what should have taken 45 minutes, ended up lasting a nerve-wracking two hours.”
The doctors informed the North Carolina couple that their baby girl did not have “all ten fingers,” which Maddie claimed was “better” news than they were expecting. At the time, Evie was diagnosed with oligodactyly.
However, upon Evie’s birth, the couple learned that she was “missing three fingers, a toe and her fibula.”
“She also had a bowed tibia, a shortened forearm and some fusing in her fingers,” Maddie added. “We were hesitant to share Evie’s condition publicly for fear that our infant daughter would become the target of mean jokes and cyberbullying. That said, we felt not being open would be even worse and make Evie feel ashamed for something that makes her all the more special in our eyes.”
She continued, “As far as we have been told, with fewer than ten recorded cases of her specific findings, it’s unclear what causes the condition.”
Did Maddie Brown’s Daughter Have Her Foot Amputated?
According to the mother of three – who also shares son Axel and daughter Joey with her husband – Evie “is healthy in every other way aside from the missing bones.”
“This was not a light-hearted decision, we spent the better part of the last year educating ourselves, talking to doctors, prosthetists, other families, and other amputees as we came to the decision we did,” Maddie said in August 2020 of their decision to amputate Evie’s foot. “Before Evie, I classified amputees as one category. You amputated because there was no way of saving the limb. I think that goes along with #limbdifference education.”
She also revealed that the surgeon gave Evie “some extra mobility in her hand” by clipping the webbing between her fingers “[Evie] is home and is recovering beautifully,” she shared.
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