In the small village in the Philippines Bella, MiracleFeet’s patient 100,000, and her family embark on a voyage of resilience and hope as she begins her clubfoot treatment journey. This milestone is a testament to how far the fight for accessible healthcare has come for children born with clubfoot worldwide.

ICYMI: Read part one of Silvia and Celva’s story. The Ponseti Method wasn’t as straightforward for Celva as it usually is for newborns. “Perhaps what we could have achieved in three or four casts with a newborn took us, in Celva’s case, 14 casts before her tenotomy. That’s where the difference is,” Dr. Valenzuela commented. Celva quickly grew weary of a new cast every eight days, but the hope of transformation sustained her patience through the process. “The first cast didn’t convince me much,” she recalls, “and neither did the second. But by the third, I could actually see the change in my foot and I thought, ‘Wow, this is actually possible.’” Four months later, Celva, with her sister by her side, sat in the clinic, eyes welling with tears as her last cast was removed revealing her newly straightened foot. While younger patients typically move on to the bracing phase of the Ponseti Method once casting is complete, Celva’s was instead given a customized plaster splint to wear on her foot at night to avoid relapse. She also went to daily kinesiology and physiotherapy sessions to increase her flexibility and movement while learning how to walk correctly on her treated foot – a vital stage of treatment, especially for older patients. As a first-hand witness to Celva’s success at treatment, Silvia was eager to begin her own. “What motivated me was seeing Celva’s results. I saw how she could walk, and how she could use high heels – I watched all of that and it motivated me to continue with my own treatment. She told me, ‘You can do it. I did it, and I know you can do it, too.’” -Silvia Like two synchronized birds in the air, the sisters switched roles, and Silvia began treatment for her right foot while Celva took over as supportive caretaker and cheerleader. Silvia found the casting phase just as uncomfortable as Celva had, but having seen the final results, she was determined to achieve the same. “I felt good because I had already seen my sister’s foot and I thought, ‘That’s how my foot will turn out as well.’ Every time they changed out the cast, you could see the result, and that felt really great.” After eight casts, she progressed to daily physical therapy. Sisters in Treatment and in Transformation “Treatment is not easy,” says Silvia, only halfway through her own, “but it’s not impossible either.” It’s true – clubfoot treatment takes a lot of patience, dedication, and trust. But ask anyone who has watched it happen, and the resounding conclusion is that it is worth it. An estimated 8 million people are currently living with untreated clubfoot. While successful treatment for older patients is possible, as the twins demonstrate, the complications and difficulties are tenfold. For MiracleFeet and our global partners, the end goal is not only to avoid these complications, but to detect and treat clubfoot in newborns before a patient ever experiences pain, stigma, or exclusion. “The ideal is that we treat patients as a children,” Dr. Valenzuela explains, “so they don’t even remember they had clubfoot.” For Silvia and Celva, it will be impossible to forget the emotional and physical toll that clubfoot had on their lives. Yet supporting one another through the long, challenging journey to straight feet has ultimately deepened their connection. “My sister has helped me so much,” Celva says, “She’s been with me since the first day to the last.” Together, the two experienced life with untreated clubfoot for twenty-three years. Together, they hoped and dreamed of a different reality. Together, they persevered through treatment. And now, they are stepping into a new future of endless possibilities, together. “Treatment completely changed me – physically and emotionally. I used to dream of wearing shoes and now I can wear any shoes I want.” – Silvia In early 2024, Silvia’s final cast on her left foot was removed – a remarkable milestone for both the girls and for Dr. Valenzuela. The visible transformation is miraculous in itself, but the most valuable result is the impact treatment will have on the twins’ futures. Celva, now able to wear the high heels she always dreamed of, is also looking forward to learning how to swim. Celva wants to learn to ride a bike. And they both have new dreams of traveling to other countries. “Never give up. You always have to have hope because that’s the only thing you can’t lose.” – Celva Clubfoot Treatment Transforms Lives A $500 treatment leads to a lifetime of opportunity and independence. Give Today

In the highlands of central Guatemala, down a long muddy road etched into the side of a mountain with dense apple orchards flanking either side, lives 8-year-old Juan Carlos. His family’s home consists of two bedrooms built on the steep slope connected to a kitchen and courtyard by a series of narrow footholds worn into the earth from daily use. Juan Carlos is a quiet boy, yet his shy smile hints that he is excited to see visitors when physical therapist Andrea Sojuel arrives for his clubfoot checkup. As she demonstrates techniques to help improve his mobility, his mother, Maria, observes attentively. She is a petite woman with long black hair and a disposition similar to her son. She wears traditional Guatemalan clothing – a richly patterned and colorful hand-woven güipil and corte and speaks mostly in her native Mayan language, K’iche’. When Juan Carlos was born in a hospital in Chichicastenango eight years ago, Maria didn’t realize he had clubfoot. At five years old, an accident brought his condition to light. Consumed with worry, Maria didn’t know what to do. “For a cold or something like that, you can just go get some medicine,” she remembers thinking, “But for this, there’s nothing you can do to fix it yourself. You need a specialist.” A Pandemic Strikes Just as Maria began her search for medical care, the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to spread across the globe. With all the uncertainty and fear surrounding this new virus, Maria decided it was too risky to bring Juan Carlos to the hospital assuming it was inundated with contagious COVID cases. Maria kept searching for help, but the pandemic raged on limiting what she could do. Unable to walk, Juan Carlos couldn’t begin elementary school like all the other kids. 456 children are born with clubfoot in Guatemala each year. Your donation supports our partner clinics to reach more children with the treatment they need. Donate It was pure luck that one day, as Juan Carlos and Maria were riding a bus, a woman sitting next to them noticed his foot. She immediately recognized the curvature – her own sons’ foot had looked exactly the same. The woman told Maria to take Juan Carlos to the MiracleFeet-supported clubfoot clinic in Sololá where she had taken her son for treatment. She told Maria exactly which day of the week the clinic was held, and that all she needed to bring was her identification card. Maria felt a spark of hope hearing this, and a renewed determination. She began saving up so she could afford the transportation cost to take Juan Carlos to the clinic. At long last, the day arrived and Juan Carlos was able to see a doctor who diagnosed him with unilateral clubfoot. Finally, after years of waiting, he would receive the care he needed. As with so many clubfoot patients, however, the final door to Juan Carlos’ bright future would be opened by his mother’s sacrifices. The Secret Ingredient to Successful Clubfoot Treatment? A Parent’s Dedication It had always been up to Maria alone to support her children financially, and Juan Carlos’ treatment was no different. Traveling for days at a time to the nearby city of Chichicastenango, she picked up extra work cleaning houses, washing clothes, and any other job she could find to help cover the costs of traveling to and from the clinic for his weekly appointments. The journey from their home to the hospital was an hour each way, and for months, Maria, barely five feet tall, carried her lanky 8-year-old son on her back shuffling between taxis, buses, and tuk-tuks. “It doesn’t matter the cost or sacrifices I had to make to get him treatment,” she shared, “What mattered to me is that he was able to walk.” Today, Juan Carlos is in the final stages of treatment and wears a brace at night. He can walk – and run – without pain and makes up for lost time playing every game he can think of with his cousin and brother. When the toys come out, his apprehension falls away as he laughs and runs to catch a ball before it tumbles down the steep mountainside across the road. His mother says even at eight, he is looking forward to what he’ll do when he grows up, often pretending to have his own business “selling” items he finds around the house to his family members. Despite all she went through to ensure Juan Carlos received the treatment he deserves, her hope for his future is simple: “I just want him to have all that he needs. I want him to be able to have a good job and provide for himself.” Thanks to treatment, the barrier of clubfoot no longer exists for Juan Carlos and the door to the childhood – and future – he deserves has finally been thrown open as he heads to school for the very first time. Your generosity can transform a child’s life. A $500 treatment opens doors and unlocks opportunity for a child born with clubfoot. Give Today