YOUTH AND CHILDREN
He loves running after the ball, laughing, and feeling part of the team.
But often his teammates are afraid of hurting him, so they stop. He doesn’t. Kevin has never stopped.
He was born with an extremely rare malformation of the lower limbs—a condition that affects about one child in a million—and it has prevented him from walking normally. His parents immediately began an tireless search for treatment: seven operations in Italy that, unfortunately, did not bring the hoped-for results. In some cases, the solutions proposed would have permanently compromised his leg.
The turning point came in the United States, at the Paley Institute in Florida—one of the very few centres in the world specialising in these complex reconstructions. There, Kevin underwent a first, crucial procedure: the application of an external fixator that realigned his femur and fibula, finally opening up a real, tangible path forward.
Since then, the journey has never stopped.
In 2023, for five months, his mother adjusted that fixator every evening with millimetre-perfect precision—one millimetre a day—guiding the limb-lengthening process step by step.
In 2026, Kevin underwent a second lengthening procedure, and at least two more operations will be needed to complete this growth journey.
Kevin has remarkable determination. He faces therapy and surgeries with a courage that often leaves even doctors speechless.
To give him the care he needs, his family has done everything possible: they have used every saving and completely reorganised their lives. The ongoing absences to support him during treatment led both parents to lose their jobs. Today, the greatest worry is not only the condition itself, but the very real possibility of being able to continue this journey.
“More than anything, we just want the financial peace of mind to say: we can treat him,” Kevin’s father says.
The surgeries, travel, time abroad, and therapies come with very high costs—only partly covered by the healthcare system. Without support, there is a real risk that Kevin will have to stop now, just as this path is finally bringing real results.
Supporting Kevin means giving him more than medical care: it means giving him the chance to grow, to move independently, and to build his own future.
And perhaps, one day in the not-too-distant future, to step onto the pitch with no one afraid to pass him the ball anymore.
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