Overjoyed girl beams at 'twin' doll with matching prosthetic leg

CYPRESS, TX -- For a Cypress girl, seeing a doll that looked like her was truly a transformative experience.

A patient at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas, Emma was born with a rare birth defect that required the amputation of her leg when she was only nine months old. Three months later, she was fitted for a prosthetic leg and began to learn how to walk.

Now 10, Emma plays sports and is on the cheer squad at school. Her mother Courtney says that, even though she has a prosthetic, she "doesn't skip a beat."

Despite her positive attitude, Emma has always said that she wanted a doll that looked like her -- and that wish recently came true.

Her mother reached out to A Step Ahead Prosthetics, a New York-based company that uses proprietary technology to build realistic-looking prosthetics.

A Step Ahead excitedly custom-fit an American Girl doll with a prosthetic leg to match Emma, and the camera was rolling as she unboxed her gift.

Courtney says that she knew Emma would be excited, but was not expecting such a moving, emotional reaction to the doll.

The touching moment has since gone viral, garnering more than 2 million views and 50,000 shares on Facebook.