| The Ponseti International Association Ways you can help support the efforts of the PIA |
The Ponseti International Association (PIA) is an effort that is long over due and
whose time has finally come. For years the parents of children treated by the
Ponseti Method and a small handful of professionals have been trying to organize
their efforts to promote the Ponseti Method. Until now, while gallant and supreme in
their intentions, the efforts were small and scattered, often lost to the world-at-large
while the Ponseti Method floated around mostly un-noticed.
In 2006 PIA was established as a non-profit organization. The mission of the
Ponseti International Association is, by their own words, ."...to improve the
treatment of children born with clubfoot through education, research, and improved
access to care. The association is named for Ignacio Ponseti, M.D., professor
emeritus of orthopaedics and rehabilitation at the University of Iowa Carver College
of Medicine."
The Goals of the PIA Include but Are Not Limited To:
benefits and reasons why we would want to promote this method.
If your child was treated by a pseudo-Ponseti Method, then you probably
understand the reasons we need to establish the true Ponseti Method as the
standard, thus doing away with the false applications and fraudulent doctors
claiming to use it. These doctors are watering down the method, soiling it's
reputation and taking advantage of unsuspecting parents (not to mention damaging
the children they treat).
If your child had the traditional treatment which consisted of months on end of
cast after cast and potentially major surgery, then you owe it to your child to see
that by the time you are a grand parent, your grandchild will not endure the same
barbaric, outdated system should he or she be born with this same birth defect.
But "How?" you ask. In a word: Money. In two words: Time and Money.
Uh, no! Actually, this is where you realize that pennies add up to nickels, nickels
add up to dimes, and dimes add up to dollars and dollars add up to another child
realizing the dream of growing up on normal healthy feet rather than living a life of
deformity and disability.
Aw now - this is where I answer your question ("How can I help?") with more than just
one or two words. We all have to think creatively! Below on this page we are
going to cover some of the easy ways you can help provide to and support the
Ponseti International Association's work to make the Ponseti Method the only
acceptable method of clubfoot treatment available in the world.
Here is How:
Again, if you shop on line you can get these very cheap, like $20.00 for 500 cards.
Keep it simple and not pushy. "For Information about Clubfoot Treatment...." I
don't like to mention the "Ponseti Method" specifically on my cards and flyres, and
here is why: I have two doctors just up the road from me at a famous Children's
Hospital in Gainesville, FL who claim to use the Ponseti Method but they do not.
Now say a parent went to these doctors, got the Pseudo-method instead of the
Ponseti Method and it went bad, is that parent going to see a clubfoot card touting
PONSETI on it and be happy to visit my website to learn about something she
already thinks doesn't work? Doubtful.
You can also deposit these cards at places like maternity wards, OBGYN Offices,
and birthing centers, day cares, places that do ultra-sounds, etc. Always ask
permission first. If you walk in being the sweet parent of a darling clubfooted child
(have your child with you!), it's likely they'll say yes.
I have other little things I do with my business cards, I leave one in every
library book I check out, for example. Someday, somewhere, someone is going to
open that book and see exactly what they need and wonder why in the world that
card fell on their lap at just the exact right moment. That's my hope, anyway.
I pin my cards to every bulletin board I walk by. I leave them on the counters in
stores that allow me to, and most do.
When I had to get Garrison's foot abduction brace repaired at a shoe shop, I left
cards on the counter there because the shoe-repair-guy said he did a lot of
orthopaedic shoe repairs and customizations.
My husband passes them out to his customers because in the theory of "Six
Degrees" every body knows somebody close by who is going to need this
information if they don't already. He went to trap a raccoon out of a woman's attic in
Ocala, Florida. The lady had a daughter in Michigan who was pregnant with a
clubfoot baby. Voila! There is the information she needs coming from fifteen
hundred miles away from a wild animal trapper. Amazing, to think a raccoon spread
the word of the Ponseti Method that day!
Donate to Research. If you have clubfoot, or a child with clubfoot, participate in a
genetics research study to help find the cause - and cure - for this birth defect.
(details below)
The bottom line is this: The Ponseti International Association is out to change
the world one child and one doctor at a time. If each of us can help, then we will
be changing it a hundred at a time, then a thousand, then a million and by the time
my three sons start their own families, and if by chance they pass down the clubfoot
gene to their children - then we won't have to wonder if that baby is getting the best
possible care. The Ponseti Method (the Real Ponset Method!) will be the only
treatment available. And what a wonderful world it will be!
whose time has finally come. For years the parents of children treated by the
Ponseti Method and a small handful of professionals have been trying to organize
their efforts to promote the Ponseti Method. Until now, while gallant and supreme in
their intentions, the efforts were small and scattered, often lost to the world-at-large
while the Ponseti Method floated around mostly un-noticed.
In 2006 PIA was established as a non-profit organization. The mission of the
Ponseti International Association is, by their own words, ."...to improve the
treatment of children born with clubfoot through education, research, and improved
access to care. The association is named for Ignacio Ponseti, M.D., professor
emeritus of orthopaedics and rehabilitation at the University of Iowa Carver College
of Medicine."
The Goals of the PIA Include but Are Not Limited To:
- Educating physicians and other health care providers on the Ponseti method
through web-based resources; scholarships for physicians from under-served
areas of the world to learn the Ponseti method; and teaching programs in
countries with limited access to educational resources.
- Educating parents of children with clubfoot through web-based materials and
seminars to enable them to evaluate treatment options and access quality
care.
- Providing better access to care, particularly in developing nations where
medical materials are limited.
- Basic research that advances the understanding of the genetic basis of
clubfoot and explores methods to prevent clubfoot.
- Clinical research that improves the evaluation and treatment of clubfoot and
leads to current education and training of physicians and health care
providers.
- That all sounds rather large, and even rather dull like
it is way out there, untouchable by the average
person. A mom or dad sitting in their house coat
early some morning reading this is going to think,
"Well, they have it under control and there's nothing I
can contribute to some big international organization
anyway."
- Oh how wrong you are! If you are the parent of a child born with clubfoot
you are already involved!
benefits and reasons why we would want to promote this method.
If your child was treated by a pseudo-Ponseti Method, then you probably
understand the reasons we need to establish the true Ponseti Method as the
standard, thus doing away with the false applications and fraudulent doctors
claiming to use it. These doctors are watering down the method, soiling it's
reputation and taking advantage of unsuspecting parents (not to mention damaging
the children they treat).
If your child had the traditional treatment which consisted of months on end of
cast after cast and potentially major surgery, then you owe it to your child to see
that by the time you are a grand parent, your grandchild will not endure the same
barbaric, outdated system should he or she be born with this same birth defect.
But "How?" you ask. In a word: Money. In two words: Time and Money.
- "OH." you say. "Of course, everything boils down to
money. You're just another buzzard out there trying to
strip the flesh off my purse." This is where you click
off this website and move on.....
Uh, no! Actually, this is where you realize that pennies add up to nickels, nickels
add up to dimes, and dimes add up to dollars and dollars add up to another child
realizing the dream of growing up on normal healthy feet rather than living a life of
deformity and disability.
- "I don't have a dime to give." You answer. "I can
hardly feed my kid,, I'm still paying his doctor bills as
it is."
Aw now - this is where I answer your question ("How can I help?") with more than just
one or two words. We all have to think creatively! Below on this page we are
going to cover some of the easy ways you can help provide to and support the
Ponseti International Association's work to make the Ponseti Method the only
acceptable method of clubfoot treatment available in the world.
Here is How:
- Use GoodSearch.com for all your internet browsing. A financial donation is
made to the PIA for every search made.
- Buy a calendar. If you are the parent or family member of a child with
clubfoot, this makes a wonderful Christmas gift and all proceeds go directly to
the PIA. Packed full of delightful photos of children treated (or being treated)
by the Ponseti Method, the calendar also has a lot of good information,
parent testimonials and tips for living with clubfoot.
- Buy T-Shirts. These adorable shirts that come in all sizes from Infant on up
are made of top quality materials and help spread the word while looking
great! All proceeds go to the PIA.
- Start a Recycling Program Near You. This program is raising a ton of
money and is possible in every town or city around the world that has
electric, basically. By requesting that a business recycle their ink cartridges
or used cell phones to the Ponseti International Association, rather than
throwing them in the trash (or recycling them but the proceeds not helping a
charity), these items become money in the bank for the PIA. This is a very
simple program, all the collection boxes and shipping are provided at no cost
to you. All you do is set up the collection box, and pick it up when it's full,
then ship it with the pre-paid shipping label.
- Locate and Nominate Dr. Ponseti for Various Prizes and Awards. By
locating and nominating Dr. Ponseti, you are helping to win monies that will go
directly to the Ponseti International Association. Even if no money is given
for a prize, the recognition, publicity and word of mouth the award produced
would go far towards helping to make the Ponseti Method the World Standard
of Clubfoot Treatment.
- Organize a Fund Raising Luncheon at Your Office. This little fund
raising project is very versitle. The basic idea is that once in a while your
office has a Pot Luck Lunch. People who bring a dish pay $3.00 for lunch;
those who do not bring a dish pay $5.00 for lunch. Money raised is sent to
the Ponseti International Association. Of course you can modify this idea to
fit many situations, and change the prices accordingly. Even $20.00, $50.00
or a hundred dollars helps.
- Donate Your Time and Talent. You may have a specific skill that the PIA
needs, as we work on donations, and not just donated cash. Perhaps you
have contacts in the Media world; contacts with corporate sponsor hopefuls;
experience organizing some facet of the plan we need organized. Think
about what it is you could do, and contact the Ponseti International
Association with your ideas.
- Organize a Fund Raising Baseball Game or Fun Run, or Other Activity.
- Organize a Silent Auction.
- Get Together a Community Yard Sale.
- Put Out Flyers. Brief flyers about the Ponseti Method can help other
parents who may not know about it, and who desperately need it. These can
be easily written and printed at home, then posted at grocery stores, laundry
mats, post-offices and other community bulletin board places.
- Put Out Messages on Yahoo Groups. Search Yahoo.com for a variety of
groups you can join where you can simply drop a note once in a while with a
little information attached to it. (Save yourself a lot of headache and make
sure you put yourself on "Daily Digest" mode rather than individual email
mode) This can be something as simple as a signature line that reads, "For
more information about clubfoot care and treatment, visit...." and add your
own blog, website, email address, and/or the links to other sites such as six-
feet.com or the nosurgery4clubfoot@yahoogroups.com.
- Network. Talk to Others. Visit the Library. All these are sources of
ideas and help you can tap in to, to help locate other money-raising ideas.
My oldest boy brought home a book about ways kids can raise money - pet
sitting, leaf raking, house watching, mail collection, and more. All these were
things any moderately able-bodied person could do to raise a little extra
money. Say you and your cf child took on a small job to raise donations? I'm
sure your library has books like this too, and while the Association would
appreciate having every penny raised, there is nothing saying you can't split
your profits 50/50 (for example). If your child were to work after school cutting
grass for the neighbors, he or she could donate a portion of their earnings
and learn about charity, budgeting and economics in one swoop.
- Donate Your Outgrown Foot Abduction Braces. These can be donated
to someone in need by posting them on nosurgery4clubfoot@yahoogroups.
com, but also there is a new donation program sending the braces over seas
to needy third-world countries where children desperately need them. (One
doctor says he is using one brace on six different children!)
- Put a Sign On Your Car. For twenty to thirty dollars you can have a stylish
vinyl sign printed to put on your car window advertising clubfoot information in
some way.
- Print a Small Add in Your Local "Thrifty Nickel" Type Newspaper.
"Need information and help in treating clubfoot? Visit www.....(pick your
website)." This doesn't raise money for the PIA, but it does raise awareness
of the Ponseti Method which of course is our goal. The more parents who
become aware of the Ponseti Method, the more parents are going to demand
it, and eventually we'll weed out the non-ponseti treatments.
- Print Your Own Business Cards to Pass Out When You Meet
Interested Parties. I believe this is one of the MAIN things you can, and
should do!!!
Again, if you shop on line you can get these very cheap, like $20.00 for 500 cards.
Keep it simple and not pushy. "For Information about Clubfoot Treatment...." I
don't like to mention the "Ponseti Method" specifically on my cards and flyres, and
here is why: I have two doctors just up the road from me at a famous Children's
Hospital in Gainesville, FL who claim to use the Ponseti Method but they do not.
Now say a parent went to these doctors, got the Pseudo-method instead of the
Ponseti Method and it went bad, is that parent going to see a clubfoot card touting
PONSETI on it and be happy to visit my website to learn about something she
already thinks doesn't work? Doubtful.
- Other people seem to think we Ponseti supporters are
"Fanatics". OK, maybe we're guilty as charged... So
while yes we are fanatical about our belief in this
method, we cannot come across that way until we've
made a believer out of the person we're targeting.
You can also deposit these cards at places like maternity wards, OBGYN Offices,
and birthing centers, day cares, places that do ultra-sounds, etc. Always ask
permission first. If you walk in being the sweet parent of a darling clubfooted child
(have your child with you!), it's likely they'll say yes.
I have other little things I do with my business cards, I leave one in every
library book I check out, for example. Someday, somewhere, someone is going to
open that book and see exactly what they need and wonder why in the world that
card fell on their lap at just the exact right moment. That's my hope, anyway.
I pin my cards to every bulletin board I walk by. I leave them on the counters in
stores that allow me to, and most do.
When I had to get Garrison's foot abduction brace repaired at a shoe shop, I left
cards on the counter there because the shoe-repair-guy said he did a lot of
orthopaedic shoe repairs and customizations.
My husband passes them out to his customers because in the theory of "Six
Degrees" every body knows somebody close by who is going to need this
information if they don't already. He went to trap a raccoon out of a woman's attic in
Ocala, Florida. The lady had a daughter in Michigan who was pregnant with a
clubfoot baby. Voila! There is the information she needs coming from fifteen
hundred miles away from a wild animal trapper. Amazing, to think a raccoon spread
the word of the Ponseti Method that day!
Donate to Research. If you have clubfoot, or a child with clubfoot, participate in a
genetics research study to help find the cause - and cure - for this birth defect.
(details below)
The bottom line is this: The Ponseti International Association is out to change
the world one child and one doctor at a time. If each of us can help, then we will
be changing it a hundred at a time, then a thousand, then a million and by the time
my three sons start their own families, and if by chance they pass down the clubfoot
gene to their children - then we won't have to wonder if that baby is getting the best
possible care. The Ponseti Method (the Real Ponset Method!) will be the only
treatment available. And what a wonderful world it will be!
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| Return to Ponseti International Association Top of Page Tell Us How You Helped! Share Your Ideas! The Ponseti International Association Web Page Return to Six-feet.com |
| This sweet gentleman at Horse Country Shoe Repair in Ocala Florida fixed the broken strap on Garrison's Mitchell Foot Abduction Brace. I left my six-feet.com business cards with him, because he told me that his shop does a lot of orthopaedic shoe repairs (meaning there was potential to spread the word about the Ponseti Method). |
| Joyce (in blue) and Shawnee at the International Clubfoot Symposium 2007, Iowa City, Iowa. Joyce is responsible for the ink recycling program. You can read about the clubfoot treatment journey of Joyce's daughter here. |
| Teresa McLaughlin (in yellow) started the Nosurgery4Clubfoot group on Yahoo many years ago. She is the reason I found out about Dr. Ponseti myself when my oldest son Brian needed help. |
| Above, Garrision running, and Brian fixing to start the Ponseti Clubfoot Races at the 2007 symposium. |
Brian holding Everett, and Garrison
with his back to us, with Dr. and Mrs.
Ponseti after the clubfoot races.
with his back to us, with Dr. and Mrs.
Ponseti after the clubfoot races.
Nurse Maria with my three boys - Lordy
what a photo! Maria is a very key
person in helping Dr. Ponseti and his
staff apply the casts to children in Iowa.
what a photo! Maria is a very key
person in helping Dr. Ponseti and his
staff apply the casts to children in Iowa.
Ronald McDonald at the 2007 International
Clubfoot Symposium in Iowa City, Iowa
Clubfoot Symposium in Iowa City, Iowa
Brian, age 9, above; Everett age 3
years and 51 weeks (ha) on Daddy's
shoulders; Garrison, age 18 months
taking a drink; and of course, my
better half who keeps me sane, my
husband Chriss at the 2007
International Clubfoot Symposium in
Iowa City September 14.
years and 51 weeks (ha) on Daddy's
shoulders; Garrison, age 18 months
taking a drink; and of course, my
better half who keeps me sane, my
husband Chriss at the 2007
International Clubfoot Symposium in
Iowa City September 14.
DONATE TO RESEARCH - HELP FIND THE CAUSES AND CURES FOR THE
CLUBFOOT BIRTH DEFECT, IT'S FREE!
Greetings to all Clubfoot Patients and Families:
I am a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon practicing the Ponseti method in Saint
Louis. I had the great fortune of training with Dr. Ponseti during my residency at
the University of Iowa. Treating clubfoot patients with casting and avoiding the
need for extensive surgery has been the most rewarding experience in my
career.
Through my travels, I have had the great pleasure of interacting with many
clubfoot patients and their families from around the world. These interactions
have fostered in me a desire to understand the cause of clubfoot. My laboratory
is devoted toward this goal and is currently investigating potential genetic causes
of clubfoot. The ultimate goal of this research is to prevent this disorder and
improve treatment. This can be important to your children as many cases of
clubfoot run in families.
To help us find the cause(s) of clubfoot, we need your help! We have 400
clubfoot patients and their families already involved in this research.
Participation in this study requires simply having a child with clubfoot and making
contact with my research coordinator, who will take a brief family history on the
phone. A "collection container" may then be sent to your home for collection of
saliva from patients and family members. The containers are then returned to our
laboratory in a postage-paid mailer. There is no cost to you.
Information from this research is confidential and no insurance company or third
party can have access to this information. Your contribution to the study is to
advance scientific understanding of clubfoot, and therefore it is unlikely that any
information about your sample will be returned to you directly.
Thanks in advance for your consideration and together we can find a way to
prevent clubfoot around the world!!!
Respectfully yours,
Matthew B. Dobbs
If interested please contact our staff:
Melissa Kirchhofer or Kristina Porter RN,BSN
One Children's Place 314-454-2065
Suite 4 South 20
Saint Louis, MO 63110
314 454-4113
kirchhoferm@wudosis.wustl.edu
CLUBFOOT BIRTH DEFECT, IT'S FREE!
Greetings to all Clubfoot Patients and Families:
I am a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon practicing the Ponseti method in Saint
Louis. I had the great fortune of training with Dr. Ponseti during my residency at
the University of Iowa. Treating clubfoot patients with casting and avoiding the
need for extensive surgery has been the most rewarding experience in my
career.
Through my travels, I have had the great pleasure of interacting with many
clubfoot patients and their families from around the world. These interactions
have fostered in me a desire to understand the cause of clubfoot. My laboratory
is devoted toward this goal and is currently investigating potential genetic causes
of clubfoot. The ultimate goal of this research is to prevent this disorder and
improve treatment. This can be important to your children as many cases of
clubfoot run in families.
To help us find the cause(s) of clubfoot, we need your help! We have 400
clubfoot patients and their families already involved in this research.
Participation in this study requires simply having a child with clubfoot and making
contact with my research coordinator, who will take a brief family history on the
phone. A "collection container" may then be sent to your home for collection of
saliva from patients and family members. The containers are then returned to our
laboratory in a postage-paid mailer. There is no cost to you.
Information from this research is confidential and no insurance company or third
party can have access to this information. Your contribution to the study is to
advance scientific understanding of clubfoot, and therefore it is unlikely that any
information about your sample will be returned to you directly.
Thanks in advance for your consideration and together we can find a way to
prevent clubfoot around the world!!!
Respectfully yours,
Matthew B. Dobbs
If interested please contact our staff:
Melissa Kirchhofer or Kristina Porter RN,BSN
One Children's Place 314-454-2065
Suite 4 South 20
Saint Louis, MO 63110
314 454-4113
kirchhoferm@wudosis.wustl.edu
