The bombs may be dropping around them, but the hundreds of children in Ukraine who were born with clubfoot, the world’s most common skeletal birth defect, still need to sleep in a high- quality brace to prevent the return of the deformity and have the chance for a productive life when the conflict is over.
“I have good news,” reported Alexandr, a distributor of clubfoot braces in Ukraine. He recently wrote, “Today, we’ve got the parcel from you! It comes so quickly! We are so thankful to you for them and our Ukrainian children also! In a few days, we are going to create a special Viber community for clubfoot children who need the braces for free.” He was sending this message to us because we have been supplying clubfoot braces to children in Ukraine since 2016 and continue to do so despite the current dire circumstances. Alexandr went on to say, “We’ll give priority to the citizens of very damaged cities: Kharkiv, Mariupol, Chernihiv, and others.”
The non-surgical Ponseti method for correcting clubfoot was developed at the University of Iowa and can be applied everywhere, even in war-torn countries. Devices like the Iowa Brace are used while the child sleeps until age four in order to retain the correction of the deformity. Alexandr sent these stories:
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- Ten-month-old Sashko’s father was working in Europe but returned home to Ukraine “to defend its independence.” Sashko’s mother stays home alone.
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- Three-year-old Zlata has a clubfoot but her parents have lost their work due to the war and cannot afford braces after the cast is removed.
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- Two-year-old Yustina’s father quit his job to join the fight. She and her mother stay in a small village near the unfriendly Belarus border and have no money to buy bigger size braces as Yustina grows.
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- Since three-year-old Bogdan’s house was damaged, his parents have had to spend all of their money to repair their home. Bogdan is ready for the next size Iowa Brace but there is no money. His mother sent a video in which she is telling him not to be afraid of the artillery shell explosions.
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- 11-month-old Mykhaylik is from Dnipro. Several days ago two rockets exploded in his peaceful city.
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- For 5-month-old Danya, 40-50 bombs and rockets were falling on his city of Kharkiv every day. His parents had to evacuate to a safer city. They don’t know if their house has been destroyed.
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- Two-and-a-half year old Angelina has been living near Kyiv, not far from Bucha, Gostomel and Irpin. She is now safe, but her house was very damaged and she doesn’t know when she can return.
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- 7-monthold Veronica is from Sumy. For several weeks her city was occupied by the enemy. The bombs and mines destroyed many houses and infrastructure.
The Ukrainian brace distributor concluded his message by saying, “Unfortunately, I receive numerous requests because too many people need the braces for free. So, I want to ask you – can you send more braces for free, or with discount? Thank you, Alexandr.”
To help get more braces to children in Ukraine, click here.