Sunday, October 18, 2009

Ponseti's Angels

Every once in a while a person of note whom you've never met will fall ill, face a tragedy, or pass away ... and you suddenly find yourself feeling emotions for that person who is unknown to you. When I read today that Doctor Ignacio Ponseti, father of the Ponseti method of treatment for clubfeet, passed away I felt like crying. He was 95 and up until a couple of years ago, was still seeing and actively treating patients. And then I DID cry. I have not been one of the blessed parents to have met him personally, and at first I was a little surprised at the strength of the emotions that I felt toward this man I never met. And yet, in a profound way, he HAS touched my life, and especially the life of my Nugget, in a way that truly is miraculous. When I think of what COULD have been, what his life COULD have been like, and now isn't and won't be because of the tremendous accomplishments and strides Ponseti made in the medical field, I have nothing but overwhelming gratitude for the impact he has made upon, literally, the entire world. I know I will always be grateful for what he has done for me and for the precious children whom he has given a new and normal stride in life....Ponseti's Angels. I fill with gratitude, and a little heartbreak now, to say that Caden is among them.

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