A schoolgirl has been left without her foot after her mum opted for a mole to be removed.
Parents Sonja 41 and Jesse Downs, 38, thought they'd made the right decision to remove a mole from their seven-year-old daughter, Presley's leg as doctors warned there was a 10 per cent chance of it turning cancerous.
Presley was born with a rare condition called giant congenital melanocytic nevus - a skin condition characterised by an abnormally dark, skin patch - that covered the whole of her right thigh and foot.
But after the mole was removed, the open wound became infected which led to an amputation.
Despite missing a limb, Presley now lives her life to the fullest, climbing trees and doing gymnastics with her three other siblings, brother Madden, eight, and sisters Kennedy, six, and Aniston, two.
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Sonja, a preschool teacher, said: "We were really worried when she was born as the condition she had was linked to melanoma.
"So we opted to have the nevus removed to get rid of the risk when she was 14 months old.
"Whilst she was having different skin grafts and different procedures in order to remove the mole, an open wound got infected.
"By the time they found it, it was too late, the infection was really fast moving.
"They removed the nevus, but they couldn't save her foot.
"For a while, we were trolled by people saying that we removed the nevus for cosmetic reasons.
"It was never about that, we wanted to give Presley the best chance at living a long and healthy life.
"We never wanted her to lose her foot.
The couple went through a legal settlement after the incident, and received a pay-out which they have used to fund Presley's prosthetics and needs.
Sonja, a mum-of-four, said: "She actually had her foot amputated before she had learned how to walk.
"She learnt to walk on her residual limb, and with prosthetics.
"Lots of people mention how well she walks on it.
"If you didn't know her story, you wouldn't realise she's wearing a prosthetic foot."
Presley has never let her disability stop her, and is super competitive with her siblings.
She is also a budding gymnast.
Sonja added: "She started gymnastics with Kennedy about six months ago.
"It's amazing how much she has learnt already.
"The beam is really thin, so she's had to learn how to figure out where it is after a jump as she can only feel it with one foot.
"We got them a beam to use at home, and they both love to encourage each other.
"If Kennedy learns a new trick, Presley will want to do it too.
"She has such a can-do attitude; she'll keep trying until she gets it."
On a trip to Utah's family adventure park, Presley impressed her family by going on a rope course unaided.
Her mum said: "We went on a trip, and she watched her brother and sister climb up this tree on ropes.
"It took her a few tries to do it herself, but then she did one better and went walking through the tree-tops when her other siblings were too scared.
"She just wants to throw herself into everything.
"She's a normal kid who loves sports like soccer.
"Her missing foot has never held her back, she's even been able to flat water surfing."
