Daily

Daily is a Miskito Indian from the border of Honduras and Nicaragua. At the age of ten, Daily is much older than most children treated for clubfoot using the Ponseti method. Although fully correctable at this age, the process takes longer, and it greatly affects lifestyle. Whereas a new-born baby will usually wear casts and a brace before learning to walk, older children like Daily will have to attend school, help with chores, and travel while wearing full-leg casts.

On average, the number of casts required in the Ponseti treatment is between 5 and 7. For Daily, Dr. Sequiera required 9 casts, as well as a tenotomy. This means more time in casts and braces for young Daily.

Compounding her difficulty is the distance Daily has to travel for checkups at Dr. Sequeira's clinic. When Daily and her mother first sought out Dr. Sequieria, their trek to his clinic took a full 24 hours, one-way. Their journey required mutliple modes of transportation, including horse, boat, and bus. Research has shown that the frequency at whichpatients return for follow-up appointments and care is greatly affected by the distance they live from the clinic. In other words, the farther away the patient lives, the less likely they are to return.

When Chesca Colloredo-Mansfield, Managing Director of miraclefeet, visited Dr.Sequeira's clinic in Managua in 2010, she had the opportunity to meet Daily and her mother, and learn of the hardships they faced in receiving treatment. She also got to watch Daily walk across Dr. Sequeira's office in her new sneakers; remarkable for a child that had been unable to stand properly, let alone walk, only 5 months before.