Simon's Story
Rescued Pitbull
Age 2 years

Dr. Kramer first met Simon and his owners in May 2008 to evaluate Simon's front limb deformities, obvious since puppyhood. Simon was born with bilateral radial hemimelia, a condition which causes severely deformed front limbs because the radius bone does not develop. With this forelimb malformation and because Simon has a large and heavy head, he was forced to support all of his body weight on his back legs, chest, and chin. His owner also used a chest harness to help Simon get around, particularly in difficult situations such as getting down stairs or off furniture.

Simon's right forelimb was deemed to have enough length to attempt to re-orient it so he could bear weight on it. Unfortunately the left limb was noted to be too short and deformed. Dr. Kramer's expectation was that, once healed, Simon would be able to ambulate on his own and on 3 limbs instead of 2.

With the help of a donation campaign that included many generous individual donors, CVRC's community outreach, as well as donated surgery time and equipment, Simon underwent corrective limb surgery. Dr. Kramer and his surgical team operated on Simon's right forelimb bones and joints in order to separate, re-align, and then stabilize them in their new position.

The following months were very difficult for Simon and his owners. He recovered slowly and required extensive nursing care, bandage changes, and regular monitoring. He gradually became able to bear more and more weight on his newly oriented limb. Today Simon can consistently support weight on his right forelimb. It is by no means normal, but it is a functioning weight-bearing front leg for the first time.

CVRC would like to thank all the individuals that contributed to Simon's surgical fund and Dr. Kramer for donating his time. Simon's success and positive outcome is the combined result of his caring owners' efforts, the sympathy of many giving souls, and the endless dedication of CVRC's nursing staff.          Good Luck to Simon and his family!