With a prosthetic on each leg, 3-year-old Nicoli Pastore zigzagged through traffic cones and maneuvered inside a sea of hula hoops lying on the floor. The toddler had the kind of smile that made strangers passing by unable to keep themselves from grinning, too.
Pastore was born with proximal femoral focal deficiency. First, he had his left leg amputated in 2016, then his right leg in November. His prosthetics were adorned with pictures of Spider-Man and Paw Patrol characters — Pastore loves super heroes and cartoons.
The boy was a member of a community of Coloradans with limb loss or limb differences who went to the Colorado School of Mines track and field complex on Saturday morning for the sixth annual Colorado Adaptive Mobility Clinic. The clinic, organized by local prosthetics provider Hanger Clinic, offered support, entertainment and training for amputees interested in strengthening their athletic skills and meeting others who could relate to their experiences.
Pastore and his parents, Tate Pastore and Crystal Clark, enjoy skateboarding, playing with toy cars and rock climbing (with Nicoli strapped into a full-body harness).
“He’s so full of energy,” Clark said. “He’s a climber. He’s a little monkey, and he can do pull-ups like no other child. His upper-body strength is insane.”
After a few rounds of the childhood favorite red light, green light, Nicoli plopped down on the field and laid his head on the turf, exhausted. Tate picked the boy up, rubbing circles on his back, assuring him he’d done a great job.
“We wanted him to meet other kids and show him he can be just as active,” Clark said.
Traci Miller wanted to work on her activity level, too. The 52-year-old Littleton woman hadn’t run since she was 9 years old. Miller tried out a new foot for her prosthetic that provided a spring in her step to enable running.
“It feels amazing,” Miller said in between practice runs. “This is the fastest and smoothest I’ve gone in a long time.”
After the morning’s training and encouragement, Miller said she’s got her sights set on doing a 5K run.
Peering toward the children’s group, she beamed. “That’s awesome,” Miller said, nodding toward a group of kids racing each other. “They’re going to do so much better than I did.”
Six-year-old Selah Gilbert raced down the infield with her leopard print prosthetic leg.
Karen Gilbert adopted Selah from China three years ago after falling in love with the little girl who is missing part of one arm and her right leg. Selah uses her left foot to write, draw and go about the normal activities of an energetic little girl.
“She’s a little force,” Karen said, smiling as Selah laughed and played with her new friends. “She doesn’t let anything stop her.”
