The Illawarra community has raised $100,000 to help save the leg of little Woonona girl Sophia Jans.
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It's a huge chunk of the $250,000 that Chris and Carley Jans need to access pioneering surgery in the United States to repair the deformity in their 10-month-old daughter's leg and foot.
Sophia was born with a rare limb deficiency called fibular hemimelia, and has no fibula and a shortened tibia in her right leg and just three toes on that foot.
After being told by Australian specialists that amputation was the only option, the Jans looked further afield and discovered the work of renowned US limb specialist Dr Dror Paley.
Limb-lengthening operations are available in Australia but Dr Paley combines those with his "superankle" procedure, which also addresses the deformity in the foot.
The Jans have been in close contact with Queensland parents Simon and Sandy Reilly, whose own little girl Demi was the first Australian patient to undergo Dr Paley's groundbreaking procedure.
Demi, now 5, started school this year and ran her first cross-country race recently.
"Simon sent us a video of Demi running the race - and to see that happening was just amazing," Mrs Jans said.
"It's just cemented in our minds what we want for our daughter - to do nothing is not an option and so we are just pursuing the options that will allow her to keep her own leg."
The Illawarra Mercury first told of the family's plight in April, and since then fundraisers and donations have made the family's mission seem more possible.
"We had more than 200 family, friends and community members come to a benefit night at the Novotel on the weekend where $60,000 was raised," Mrs Jan said.
"We've also been fortunate enough to raise $40,000 through online and direct donations and so now this dream of ours to save Sophia's leg seems like it could come true. We will have to hold a few more fundraisers but the generosity of the Illawarra community has just been amazing."
The best time for Sophia to have the surgery is between 18 months and two years and the family hopes to get to the US early to mid next year.
Mr Reilly said Demi, also born with fibular hemimelia, was doing great after two operations by Dr Paley in August 2011.
They flew from Palm Beach on the Gold Coast to Palm Beach, Florida, for Demi to undergo the procedure when she was 15 months old.
"We were also told that the only option for Demi was amputation," Mr Reilly said.
"But as a firefighter - where amputation is always the last resort - I couldn't imagine scheduling an appointment to remove her leg.
"She had an 8½-hour operation, followed by another operation, and it was no walk in the park.
"But the light at the end of the tunnel was that our little girl could walk on her own two feet on the sand at the beach."
Mr Reilly now helps other Australian parents "navigate the process" and wants the federal government to assist families to access specialists overseas.
"If a child had a limb amputated they need assistance for the rest of their lives - this way they are not dependent on the health system indefinitely."
