miraclefeet
Without proper treatment, many of these children walk only with great difficulty. The impact of this birth defect imposes physical, social and financial burdens that can be devastating - yet are avoidable.
The miraclefeet mission is to improve access to treatment of clubfoot for children in developing countries.
To learn more, please visit us at:
http://www.miraclefeet.org
Wow, what a great week! miraclefeet has been at the Mexican Society of Pediatric Orthopaedics this week as part of the launch for the National Mexican Clubfoot Program.
The program consists of 7 comprehensive clubfoot clinics that practice Ponseti. The clinics have been launched as Regional Hubs - 7 clinics in 7 different states, strategically chosen based on excellence in the Ponseti Method and geographic location. These 7 clinics are the initial launch and as the program grows, more clinics will be established. The clinics are chosen to create a system of clinics that will diminish travel time required for families, thus increasing patient retention.
The program is a collaboration between miraclefeet, the Mexican Society of Pediatric Orthopaedics, Ponseti International Association, and the Mexican Clubfoot Foundation.
The coordinators of the Regional Hubs are experienced and enthusiastic Ponseti practitioners and are passionate about helping reach under served populations. They are excited to start using the new National Program materials to educate and reach more patients.
miraclefeet is incredibly honor to be a partner in this amazing partnership - and we are looking forward to sharing the progress with you, without whom such projects would not be possible!
Remember to vote for miraclefeet as part of the Making More Health Competition - we have the chance to win $10,000 - enough to treat 40 children - but we need your votes! You can also vote via Facebook!
I recently spent a day at the clubfoot clinic at the Hospital Civil we support in Guadalajara, Mexico. Dr. Erika Arana has built this clinic up from scratch and overwhelmed with the number of children seeking treatment. She currently has a waiting list and is hoping to add a second clinic day to make sure all the kids on the waiting list can get immediate treatment.
I watched her treat over 20 children while I was there. The kids spanned from older children with neglected or relapsed clubfoot to newborn babies coming in for their first cast. Some came in with grandmothers or with an older sibling, others with one or both parents. All were reassured that their child would be fine thanks to the Ponseti treatment Erika can provide for free. With miraclefeet funding, Erika has hired a counselor who works on parent education and enters patient data into the database, provides free braces to families who have no money for expensive new ones, and reimburses bus fares for those who struggle to get to the clinic each week.
Dr. Arana’s clinic will be one of the Centers of Excellence for the joint Mexico National Clubfoot Program that we will be launching in November with our partners, The Mexican Society for Pediatric Orthopedics, Mexico Ponseti Foundation, and Ponseti International Association.
The photos above show some of the children treated the day I was in Dr. Arana’s clinic.
Adrian gets treatment with Ponseti in Guadalajara, Mexico
Here’s a step through time with little Adrian, one of Dr. Erika Arana’s patients in Guadalajara, Mexico! The photos not only exhibit how his feet progress, but his great smile, too!
Donovan
Here’s Donovan and his mother, who is putting on his brace. Donovan is a patient in Dr. Arana’s clinic in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The state of Guadalajara sees over 100 new cases of clubfoot each year.
Dr. Arana was one of the first doctors in Mexico to train with Dr. Ponseti in Iowa. Her clubfoot clinic currently sees about 50 patients a year, with potential to double in size with additional financial support. miraclefeet provides braces, and funded the expansion of the clinic in order to serve more children.
Dr. Arana is developing a regional educational campaign. She has scheduled additional Ponseti Method training courses for doctors to be held in November, 2011.
You can learn more about how to support clinics like Dr. Arana’s and children like Donovan here.
Angela
Little Angela is 7-months old and lives in a city outside of Guadalajara, Mexico. Her mother, Hortencia, brings her to her weekly appointments with Dr. Erika at Hospital Civil. Isn’t it amazing to see the difference that just a few months can make?
Did you know that July is Make a Difference to a Child Month? Did you further know that miraclefeet believes that every month should be dedicated to enriching the lives of children? That’s why we work hard to ensure children in developing nations such as Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua and India can walk normally and treat clubfoot with a non-invasive procedure using the Ponseti Method.
We have numerous stories about children who can now walk, run and play with their friends without the shame and stigma attached to clubfoot. A lot of these inspirational stories can be found on our website and we’d love to add more with your help. So how can you make a difference? Easy!
By giving to our Summer of Miracles Challenge you can help give the gift of walking to a child forever. You merely go online to our secure form and fill out the necessary information and hit send. It’s that easy. The money will be used to provide treatment to children, buy plaster and supplies for casting or for leg braces.
You can help children like Alino, Alan or Deborah who have already benefited from miraclefeet and its team of international doctors. Help make a difference in the life of a child this month and donate to miraclefeet today!
miraclefeet’s newest partnership in Mexico
miraclefeet’s newest partnership, with Hospital Civil in Guadalajara, Mexico, became official earlier this month! To celebrate, we’re sharing some photos from Dr. Erika’s clinic with her sweet patients and cheerful staff!
