AN AMPUTEE schoolgirl who lost a leg to cancer has defied the odds to become a competitive dancer. When ballerina Gabi Shull had her leg amputated she feared she would never dance again. But thanks to groundbreaking ‘rotationplasty’ surgery, the 14-year-old bone cancer survivor has been able to get back on her toes. Gabi was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in March 2011, when she was just nine-years-old. Her diseased knee was removed and her foot was rotated 180 degrees and reattached to her upper leg – with her ankle serving as her knee. Gabi was fitted with a prosthetic lower leg and took her first steps a year later. Now Gabi, from Missouri, America, can bend and flex her prosthesis by moving her foot and is now encouraging others to ‘live their dreams’ and ‘never give up’.