Submitted photo ... Jace Mooney of Girard, who will be 2 next month, attempts to play like other children, but has to wear a device that will lengthen his leg. Jace has fibular hemimelia, which in laymen’s terms means he is missing the fibula bone in his left leg, preventing proper leg growth.

GIRARD — Good news comes this month for a Girard toddler who may be able to play a little more like other children thanks to several surgeries and a device called a fixator.

Jace Mooney’s parents, Ashley Richmond and A.J. Mooney, have been notified their son will have surgery Jan. 16 to remove a fixator from his left leg, which will let him play and grow until around age 4, when he will take the next step in his journey.

According to Ashley, Jace suffers from fibular hemimelia, which in layman’s terms means he is missing the fibula bone in his left leg, preventing proper leg growth. He was diagnosed before his birth, and as he grew, because his left foot is stuck in a “kicked-out” position, he had trouble trying to stand on his own for more than a few seconds. When he does stand, it is on his right foot, and his left big toe. He pretty much got around by holding onto furniture or the wall.

Back in mid-summer, Jace went through a surgery to reconstruct his ankle so his foot will sit flat as opposed to the kick-out position. The surgery was to give Jace a better range of motion.

The next surgery came in August when Jace had an “external fixator” connected to his left leg. This device is meant to correct the 2-inch difference between his right and left leg. Jace wears the device all the time and each day the device’s six turn keys are turned three-quarters of a millimeter to help lengthen his leg’s tibia.

Both surgeries were done at the Paley Spine and Orthopedic Institute in Florida. While the doctors are in the family’s insurance network, the out-of-pocket expenses have really hit hard. The Mahoning Valley Olde Car Club helped by naming Jace as the sponsored recipient of their 2024 annual car show fundraisers. The Girard Firefighters Local 1220 also helped by putting on a Fireman’s Ball a year ago to help the family.

With the fixator installed, the family finally arrived home at Halloween with Jace going through the daily stretching program. Last week, the family got an early Christmas present.

“We heard from Dr. Shannon (his surgeon / specialist in Florida at the Paley Institute) on Tuesday,” Richmond said. “We sent her X-rays and she said Jace is healed and ready to have the fixator removed, a month before we anticipated it.”

The surgery has been scheduled for Jan. 16, just five days after Jace’s second birthday. It means another trip to Florida, but it means Jace will be able to walk and play without supporting himself, at least for a while.

“The removal surgery is an outpatient procedure,” Richmond said. “He will be in a walking cast for four weeks and will have to go through physical therapy again, but we can do that in Ohio. We just have to find a physical therapist. Once he is done with therapy and the cast is removed, he will be done with surgeries until he is around 4 years old or when he reaches a 5cm discrepancy between his left and right legs again.”

When that happens, he will have to have the fixator attached again and go through the process as before. It has to be done to keep the left leg growing, or keeping up with the right leg.

Richmond said the family is so grateful for the help they have received.

“The funds from the MVOCC greatly helped us pay for the housing we stayed in at the Florida institute and helped with our travel expenses,” Richmond said. “We stayed in the Quantum House and it cost us $45 a night. It is directly on the hospital campus and it was an amazing experience. We got to meet families from all over the world.”

She said Jace now has friends in Italy, Poland, Portugal, Canada and Ghana. The funds also went to help pay for a train ride home.

“We took the Amtrak auto train home and Jace loved it,” she said. “We are so incredibly grateful to the MVOCC for sponsoring Jace. We have met so many incredible people during this part of Jace’s journey with fibular hemimelia.”

When the MVOCC sponsors a child, the members love to stay in touch and look forward to hearing good news about the children they help.

“I posted (Jace’s good news) on the Club’s Facebook page and the positive response was overwhelming,” said MVOCC President Amy Suszynski. “These families become friends.”

The MVOCC was founded in 1978 by a group of Valley old car enthusiasts. Today, the club boasts around 200 members and the door is still open for new members.

“You do not have to own a car to join,” Suszynski said. “We didn’t have a car the first six years we belonged.”

She said anyone can request a membership application during any event or meeting. The first meeting of 2025 will be 7 p.m. Jan. 4 at the Austintown Senior Center, 112 Westchester Drive. Anyone can also join on the club’s Facebook page and become part of the team that helps the children each year from proceeds from the MVOCC’s weekly car cruise and its big “Cars in the Park” car show every August.

The club has donated roughly $228,000 over the years for recipients like Jace and for Hospice of the Valley. To receive the news about Jace this month has been a Christmas present to all the MVOCC members.