I’ve written a lot about our son’s clubfeet and all the medical care he’s received as a result. June 3rd is World Clubfoot Day and we spent a lot of time reflecting on our journey so far and what our sweet boy has been through. He’s come so far!

We’re the lucky ones — we only live two hours away from a top-notch clinic at a Shriners Hospital for Children, we live in the first world and have health insurance and access to plenty of information. And, clubfoot is a congenital birth defect that’s relatively common and completely treatable. It’s not life-altering. But it could be, if we didn’t have access to all of this. If you ever feel like it’s hard to make a difference in the world, here’s one thing you can do:

• Donate to MiracleFeet: they provide organizational, technical, and financial support to over 150 clinics throughout the world in order to provide treatment to children born with clubfoot. The treatment costs, on average, only $250 per child and is free or extremely low-cost for the families who receive it
• Support Shriners Hospitals for Children

The Wyoming Shrine Bowl is next week. We attended a few years ago when we lived in Casper, but had no idea at the time it would become personal. Sitting in the stadium then, we never imagined we’d someday be beneficiaries of local Shriners’ fundraising efforts a few years later!

We are lucky his birth defect is mild and treatable, but even then, it’s not cheap, and Shriners helps make it all so much more affordable.

For anyone who might end up here after receiving the initial diagnosis: there is a lot of joy to come, even though it may be hard at times. Just wanted to share some encouragement as we celebrate our own precious little one! ❤