HUNDREDS OF BABIES HAVE HAD THEIR FEET CAST... many more children and adults have had their feet surgically corrected by the Mano de Ayuda Program. Clubbed feet is a birth defect found in about one tenth of one per cent of all births. Mano de Ayuda initiated a program 5 years ago to eradicate this deformity in the State of Michoacán.
With casting, the feet of newborns are slowly manipulated to their normal positions. Hundreds of babies have had their feet cast once a week over a period of months at the Mano de Ayuda clinic. John has had four and five children to cast on a given Sunday.
Some babies, older children and adults require surgery. The difference that a simple surgical procedure makes can be measured in smiles and the feelings of well-being. Mano de Ayuda accepted the challenge years ago. Supported by Dr. Rogelio Acuña and the residents of the Civil Hospital in Morelia, the Secretary of Health and the Family & Welfare Department (DIF Estatal) of the State of Michoacán, over three hundred patients have had surgery. More are to come.
CLUBBED FEET, A BIRTH DEFECT, appearing in only a very small population yet devastating and embarrassing for those afflicted. Hundreds of children and adults have had their feet corrected at Mano de Ayuda.
