Massachusetts

‘Joy and Gratitude': Born to Run Foundation Donates Prosthetic Running Blade to Little Boy

3-year-old Isaac says he can run 'super fast' after receiving a batman running blade, the first donation from The Born to Run Foundation

A 3-year-old boy is running again thanks to the help of the Born to Run Foundation, a local charity dedicated to helping child amputees that was created after a Massachusetts college student's near-death accident.

Noelle Lambert loves sports and her lacrosse team at UMass-Lowell, but a moped ride on Martha’s Vineyard almost ended it all for her.

“One minute we were having fun and the next we collided with a dump truck and I was looking down on my severed leg,” she recalls of the accident. "I quickly had this mind-set that I’m not going to let this define who I was.”

After 18 months of recovery and a new running prosthetic, Lambert was back on the field, and now she’s giving back through her Born to Run Foundation. It’s a chance to help young amputees get the prosthetics they need to live a full life.

Three-year-old Isaac Depelteau received the first donation, a batman running blade.

“You see kids like that and you just want to do better for yourself,” Lambert said.

Isaac was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, forcing his parents to decide his future: years of surgeries or lose the leg.

“To have to make a decision to amputate your sixteen month olds leg is gruelling," Isaac's mom, Sarah Depelteau, said. "We had to have a significant amount of faith.”

Sarah and Derek Depelteau found support at Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics.

“All of those worries that we had prior to having amputate his leg have just been replaced with just joy and gratitude,” Sarah Depelteau said.

On only Isaac’s second day using the blade, he’s already running "super fast," as Isaac says.

The Depelteau’s family motto is no limits, and now Isaac's future is limitless thanks to Lambert.

“We’re just excited to see what this enables him to do,” Sarah Depelteau said of her 3-year-old son.

Prosthetics are expensive and need to be replaced every three years. Often insurance doesn’t cover “specialty” prosthetics like running blades, making this a gift a great start for Isaac.

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