Indigo Bruehwiler called the day of her amputation surgery “the luckiest day of the year.” It was also St. Patrick’s Day, a day typically associated with good luck.
For Bruehwiler, who was only 13 at the time, the day was a springboard for her personal growth. Now free from the pain caused by a congenital defect in her right leg, she began to thrive, pushing her body to new capabilities with the help of WVU Medicine Outpatient Rehabilitation Services and becoming a fierce advocate for bringing adaptive sports into West Virginia schools.
Bruehwiler, now 17, was born with fibular hemimelia, a condition in which a child is born without a fibula, one of the two long bones in the lower leg. Her right leg was affected, which resulted in a deformed right foot. Over the years, she had nearly 30 surgeries on her leg and eventually lost her ability to walk independently.
Starting at a very young age, Bruehwiler spent time with other children with limb differences at youth camps. As she grew older, she began playing adaptive sports – those with rules or modifications that allow people with physical, cognitive, or other disabilities to play. Wheelchair basketball quickly became her favorite, and she noticed how well adapted and confident her teammates were.
“I kept seeing all these kids around me thriving without a leg, being born without a leg, losing a leg to cancer, and they were fine,” Bruehwiler said. “So, I chose amputation.”
With her right leg amputated at the knee, Bruehwiler was excited to push her body physically. She continued playing wheelchair basketball and took up amputee soccer and scuba diving. When her family moved from Washington, D.C., to Morgantown in 2022, she continued physical therapy as a part of her strengthening and recovery.
In January, Bruehwiler decided she wanted to learn how to run. Her family reached out to WVU Medicine Outpatient Rehabilitation Services, and shortly thereafter, Bruehwiler began working with physical therapist Mark Hose, M.P.T., P.T.
“When we first started, it was very awkward for her to run,” Hose said.
He explained that since she’d never been able to run before, she didn’t know how to use her arms, how to breathe, or how to stride, so he and his team broke down the mechanics of running to get her started. Her physical therapy program also included exercises to strengthen her muscles, increase her endurance, and improve her balance.
“It doesn’t matter if you have two legs or one leg or a prosthetic leg, the mechanics are always usually very similar,” Hose said. “It’s how you adapt to those things and get those muscles to react the way we want them. She comes in, and she works hard.”
Her hard work paid off. After running a qualifying track meet, Bruehwiler’s time qualified her for the Hartford Nationals, a national sport championship event for physically, visually, or intellectually impaired athletes, in July.
Bruehwiler attended the opening ceremony and walked the track but unfortunately could not compete due to an unrelated emergency. However, she attributes her success in reaching Nationals to the therapy and coaching she received from Hose and his team.
“I have been in many physical therapy clinics and offices, and WVU Medicine’s physical therapy is one of the most impactful ones that I’ve been in,” Bruehwiler said. “They helped me grow so much in such little time. It was the kindness of my physical therapist and the kindness of the team that really pushed me to be my best self. I’m proud of myself for at least being able to get to Nationals because I was able to see all the people around me and see the diversity in adaptive track and field.”
She took advantage of West Virginia University’s Friday Adapted Physical Education Program, which provides adapted physical activities and hands-on instruction for children with disabilities in the community. In April, the program loaned 16 of their basketball wheelchairs to Bruehwiler, allowing her to organize a two-day wheelchair basketball event at a local high school. Now, with the help of Hose, she’s working to expand the wheelchair basketball program county-wide.
“You get patients that motivate you as a therapist, and she’s just one of those that makes us try to do more for her and to help her out,” Hose said, adding that Bruehwiler inspires not only the entire staff, but everyone who is around her.
This summer, thanks to her tireless efforts in bringing adaptive sports into the local community, Bruehwiler received the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award, which celebrates young people who use sports to make a positive impact on society. Bruehwiler was one of 20 regional recipients of the award, which is part of ESPN’s Sports Humanitarian Awards.
“She wasn’t focused on being recognized,” Amy Bruehwiler said of her daughter’s award. “She was working hard to share her passion with the community, and now having national recognition can help bring attention to her focus of bringing adaptive sports into West Virginia schools.”
As Bruehwiler enters her senior year of high school, she is searching for the next opportunity to help implement or teach adaptive sports or camps. Next year’s track Nationals are also on her mind, and she has already begun training with Hose and his team.
“I can’t speak highly enough about the physical therapy team,” Bruehwiler said. “They are incredible human beings. They care about their patients so much, and they care about the environment that they’re building with their colleagues. They want what’s best for their patients, and they want what’s best for you as a person. And you can really see that, especially with my physical therapist, Mark. He’s amazing.”
“Her long-term goal is to help promote adaptive sports wherever she is,” Hose said. “And we’re trying to help her promote it.”
While Bruehwiler doesn’t quite know what her future looks like, she hopes to play wheelchair basketball in college and perhaps, someday, work for the Paralympic Organization – or even become a Paralympic athlete. For the moment, she is focused on pouring her heart and soul into the community by sharing the games she loves with everyone.
“I know that when I leave, it will be hard, but I want to leave as big of a lasting impact so that it can be continued without me,” Bruehwiler said.
For more information about WVU Medicine Outpatient Rehabilitation Services, visit WVUMedicine.org/OutpatientRehab.
