By BRETT CIHON

Staff Writer

Isabel Powell lost her leg at the age of 2. Winter, the dolphin featured in the movie “Dolphin Tale,”  lost her fluke — the tail fin that propels the animal when swimming — at 2 months.

But does Powell think she and Winter are kindred spirits, sharing the same made-for-Hollywood-type story?

Not exactly.

“I guess we’re a little similar,” Isabel, now 11, says matter-of-factly. “But Winter was caught in a crab trap when she lost her fluke, and I had a vascular tumor.”

Kindred spirits or not, the fifth-grader at Hidden Creek Elementary School can’t wait to swim with Winter at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida. That’s one thing she’ll get to do when she attends Camp No Limits, a four-day program designed to provide support and adapted recreational activities for children living with limb loss.

Isabel said swimming next to the famed dolphin with the prosthetic fin could be the highlight of her trip.

“I’m going to have trouble sleeping the night before,” Powell said this week before leaving with her mother for Florida, where the camp session begins today.

Like Winter, Isabel’s story isn’t exactly a common one.

When she was 2, a tumor in her foot meant her left leg needed to be amputated below the knee. She was fitted with her first prosthesis when she was 3.

Though the prosthesis was hard to maneuver at first, the young, energetic girl learned quickly how to move. After the learning period, life for Isabel and her family continued pretty much as normal.

Normal, until she met renowned prosthetics designer Kevin Carroll in August at Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics in Bremerton.

Carroll, the designer of the artificial fluke attached to Winter the dolphin, was struck by the girl’s charm. Carroll — or “Dr. Kevin,” as Isabel calls him — quickly offered her the chance to attend Camp No Limits in Florida free of charge. There, she could swim with the famous dolphin.

An animal lover who aspires to be a veterinarian, Isabel and her family jumped at the offer. Powell and her mother will spend this weekend at the camp.

Swimming with Winter isn’t the only part of Camp No Limits that Isabel is looking forward to. She can’t wait to perform the karate routine she’s been practicing for the talent show. She’s stoked about a camp dance and the warm Florida sun, too.

She is also excited to meet other kids her age with prostheses, she said, something that doesn’t happen too often around Port Orchard.

“There is one kid I see, but he’s in kindergarten,” Isabel said.

Though she’s most excited to see the dolphin and perform in the talent show, her dad, Eric Powell, a chief petty officer in the Navy, said she will also get the opportunity to work with prosthetic specialists who can help her develop muscles and exercises suited for her prosthesis. The family will gain information about the latest technology and organizations that help fund prosthetic components, he said.

Of course, Isabel doesn’t think too much about that stuff. She’s been thinking more about the swimming and dancing. Maybe even too much, she said.

“People at my bus stop get annoyed because I can’t stop talking about going,” Powell said. “I’m not nervous, I can’t wait.”