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21-year-old New Yorker Mariah Serrano was born with a painfully twisted club foot, and had never worn high heels in her life. Shed attended her high school prom in golden trainers, insanely jealous of her friends who wore heels.\r
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Like many other girls from New York, Mariah dreamed of a job in fashion, but it seemed like her leg-situation was going to get in the way of that too. When I was told Id never be able to wear high heels and I should give up my dream career, I was devastated, she said.\r
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So when a specialist told her in new that she had another option -- to have her leg amputated, she seriously considered it. Mum was horrified but I couldnt get the idea out of my head. I had to give it some serious thought.\r
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A club foot is an easily-corrected childhood condition by bracing or surgery. But Mariah endured five operations and wore leg braces all her life with no improvement. It came to a point where she was sick of the braces and longed to wear normal shoes.\r
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Mariah was still considering the amputation when she read something that helped her make the decision. It wasnt until I read an article about my favorite designer Alexander McQueen, whod made a pair of prosthetic legs for athlete Aimee Mullins that I knew what I had to do. Mariah realized that a beautifully crafted prosthetic could look good. And at that moment, she chose to chop off her leg.\r
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In the summer of new, Mariah underwent surgery to have her leg surgically removed. It wasnt easy for her; the post-surgery complications turned out to be a nightmare. As the wound struggled to heal, she did have her moments of regret. I wondered what on earth I had done, she said. I didnt go out and didnt want my friends to come over and see me. It was really hard.\r
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Eventually the wound healed well, and that winter, her family presented her with her first pair of heels -- white basket woven Alice + Olivia platform wedges. Mariah was thrilled. As I teetered around the living room wearing them, I knew Id done the right thing, she said.\r
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Mariah remembers having trouble learning to walk in heels. It was hard to get used to, but even girls without foot and leg problems have to learn to wear heels for the first time. She soon got a hang of it though; now she owns 10 pairs of high heels.\r
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Not long after the surgery, Mariah landed her dream job. She works as a social media manager at top fashion label Betsey Johnson. Ive never felt so glamorous or empowered, she said.\r
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Despite her success, Mariah sometimes forgets that she doesnt have a foot anymore. Choosing to have my leg cut off was the hardest thing Ive ever done. I still wake up sometimes and wonder where it is. Sometimes she leaps out of bed, forgetting that she doesnt have a leg, and falls over. She says shes still getting used to it.\r
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The prosthetic does make Mariah feel conscious sometimes, but she has learned not to take it too seriously. My friends are always joking around with my fake leg. But she also says that her leg has given her so much more confidence and helped her achieve the life she wanted. I suppose her decision was the right one, then.
