For Araceli, 42, the arrival of her fourth son, Ian, marked the beginning of a path full of new challenges as well as new discoveries, with love guiding her through both.  

Originally from the Manabí province on the coast of Ecuador, Araceli had long dreamed of having a large and united family. Shortly after the birth of their first son, she and her husband decided to leave the busy city in search of a quieter and safer life. “We migrated here to work the land and raise our children away from the dangers of the city,” says Araceli. Their new home in Matambal, a rural community in Muisne, became a refuge for her and her family. Life took on a new pace as they established their farm and began raising livestock and trying their hand at crops like cocoa and coffee.  

Nearly a decade passed, as Araceli balanced life on the farm with raising her three sons. Yet just when all seemed well settled, a new adventure arose. Araceli remembers laughing when she told her husband that she had nausea and discomfort, which she attributed to eating mate jam. Her husband, however, very perceptively responded: “You’re pregnant.” It seemed impossible – she had just turned forty and twelve years had passed since she gave birth to her last child.  

“What will it be?” she wondered, as any mother to all boys might. Yet when her fourth little boy was born, with his blonde hair and curiosity, Ian became the sun that illuminated their home. She never imagined, however, that Ian would be born with a debilitating condition that meant walking would be painful, if not impossible.  

“I saw his little feet turned, but I thought he was just in a bad position,” Araceli recalls. The private clinic she attended did not provide information or guidance about her son’s clubfoot; even the examination by the first pediatrician who treated Ian left her with more questions than answers. 

Araceli assumed it was something Ian would outgrow and nothing to worry about. However, when she noticed a few weeks later that they were not improving on their own, she began to worry. The lack of information in her community left her feeling isolated and concerned. “I didn’t know where to turn or what to do,” she confesses. But she did not allow herself to give up.  

The search for treatment became an odyssey for Araceli. She took Ian to a new pediatrician when he was fifteen days old, asking, “Why does my baby have feet like that?” The pediatrician responded, “because of his position in the belly; it’s like a clubfoot, but there’s no problem. Buy him some little boots and put them on backwards.” Unsure what else to do, Araceli followed the pediatrician’s instructions. “I put him in stockings and his little boots daily and gave him massages on his little legs.”

Months later, Ian’s feet were no better. He was five months old when a friend told Araceli about a clinic in Esmeraldas that could help him. Determined to help her youngest son, she organized a trip without her husband, who was skeptical of the Ponseti method.

The Journey

Travel in itself was an enormous obstacle. From their home on the farm, each trip required a ride on horseback and a river crossing by boat before they could get a taxi into the city. Araceli and Ian would make this journey many times over the next several months. But the effort paid off. Arriving at a MiracleFeet-supported clinic in Esmeraldas, Araceli finally found the professionalism and support she had been looking for. At their first appointment, Ian received his first casts and the staff shared instructions for caring for him throughout the treatment process. It was a great surprise to her when, eight days later, she and her husband saw a noticeable change in Ian’s feet when they returned to the clinic to change the cast. “We were happy,” she recalls with a smile. Araceli diligently followed the clinician’s instructions, bringing him back week after week for new casts. After only a few weeks of casting followed by a tenotomy, his feet were transformed.

Today, Ian is cherished as the youngest brother of four, making him the center of attention, play, and of course, special care. Araceli carries him on her back as they walk along the stream to their farm, a lush haven where Ian is allowed the freedom to explore and experience the natural world.

Ian, newly two, is learning to walk. On sunny days, Araceli and her husband watch him play in the river, his little feet splashing and gripping the rocks. “I see him enjoying the water as if nothing had happened,” his mother says, reflecting on the love and determination that guided them here. “He didn’t give up, so neither did I.”