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Girl with rare joint disorder hopes to walk & needs help to do it

Posted at 10:40 PM, Jan 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-20 22:40:26-05

MUSKEGON, Mich.-- 11-year-old Ali Stone has undergone 17 surgeries in her short life, hoping to correct her Arthrogryposis, a rare condition that limits the movement in her joints. Right now, Ali's in a wheelchair,but she hopes she won't need it for long.

“It was very, very, very hard for us to try to find that kind of doctor, but after we found him we were like well, he can actually do this,"said Ali Stone.

Ali and her mom Ronda found a doctor, Dr. Feldman, at a conference in Ohio, that they think is their saving grace. Feldman promised Ali he could get her walking.

“He goes ‘I can make her walk within a year. It’s going to take a lot: three surgeries. But once I start we have to keep going,'" Ronda Stone said.

The only problem is Dr. Feldman doesn't accept Michigan Medicaid. Ali will need private insurance in order to get the operations and they say waiting isn't an option.

"This is her last chance, her last hope, because she is getting older, and she is getting heavier.  So he said we’ve got to start, we can’t wait until she’s older," said Ronda Stone.

Ali remains hopeful. She and her mom have started selling crafts on Facebook, and have started a GoFundMe page to help raise funds.

“I have a big heart, and my heart is saying to walk. So hopefully my mind and my heart can be put out to the world, so that way people can find a place in their heart to help me,”  Ali told FOX 17.

Ali and her mom will be following up with Dr. Feldman in March and hope to set the surgery dates then.