An eight-year-old girl from New Glasgow, N.S., who lost part of her hand in an accident isn’t letting the ordeal stop her from hitting the ice.
In June 2017, Ava Foote slipped and fell onto a carpentry tool. Her right hand was severed at the knuckles.
“It took probably a good day or two to sink in what was going on. But she never let it bother her, so we went with it,” says Ava’s mother, Angela.
“She just said, ‘I'm going to use my left hand.’”
After three major surgeries and two more on the way, Ava can use part of her hand and thumb. She'll soon get fitted for a prosthetic hand, but says she's getting by just fine without one.
“I have a hockey glove from Hockey Canada, and it helps hold onto the stick for me,” Ava says.
Within a few months, Ava was back on the ice playing centre with her hockey team.
Ava has been named Hockey Canada's ambassador for March. She’ll get the honour at her game on Friday at the Pictou County Wellness Centre.
For her family, the award is a testament to how far they've come in the last few months.
“Everything was a day ahead or a month ahead, now we're definitely in the future and whatever she's going to do we're going to be back behind her,” Angela says.
Ava turned eight in January. Instead of birthday presents, she asked everyone to make donations to the IWK, the place that has helped her get back to the rink.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Emily Baron Cadloff.
