Fifteen-year-old Jordan White is a full-blooded archer. In fact, he is a world-class athlete who will compete in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris in just a few weeks.

“I’ve put in a lot of work, done all my training and now it’s time to have some fun and see what happens,” he said.

White’s journey began in 2009. He was a healthy and happy baby, but he was born with Congenital Femoral Deformity (CFD), a condition he wanted to overcome with the help of his loved ones.
     
White and two other Paralympians, Arelle Middleton and Keegan Knott, require treatment at the Paley Institute at St. Mary’s Medical Center.

Dr. Claire Shannon of the Paley Institute says that in many cases like White’s, families are often faced with the decision of possible amputation.

“They were born with a short and deformed leg. It mainly affects the femur,” she said.

Dr. Shannon says the disorder occurs to varying degrees in some children and all require multiple treatments throughout their lives.

“To reconstruct the bone to create a normal hip joint, you then have to lengthen the leg because the leg is so much shorter than the other one to try to get both feet evenly on the ground,” she said.

Dr. Shannon says the lengthening happens very gradually, so it takes about three months for the leg to grow two inches longer.

White, now 15, has already undergone several operations. He is grateful every day that he can demonstrate his outstanding archery skills.

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