Another World Clubfoot Day is upon us and it’s time to celebrate not only my favorite Clubfoot kiddo- Sporty but also all of the friends we’ve made along the way! It’s also, Sporty’s favorite time to request a video produced by moi! We had trouble finding the perfect inspirational song that we have in the past but I finally settled on “Rise Up” by Audra Day because day after day, bump after bump, set back after set back, Sporty continues to “rise up” and to quote the song, I know she’ll continue to do it “a thousand times again.”

Since last World Clubfoot Day, we have relocated to the very warm Phoenix area. We’ve been here 11 months and it’s starting to feel like home (and like home is on the surface of the sun). We had one trip back to Dr Fluffy Unicorn in December and have another scheduled for mid-July. At our December appointment Sporty still showed some pretty significant tightness (she has grow almost 6 inches since January!) so he prescribed some custom AFOs which she’s been in for almost 6 months. Mom here isn’t entirely happy with her left foot but we’ll see what July brings.

Sporty of course continues to play softball (negligent blogging mom here missed the entire winter/spring tournament season) and is on a team that she absolutely loves. She’s been catching most of the innings and loves being back behind the plate. She continues to take hitting lessons and we’ve seen her bat wake up and she’s starting to get some hits, she’s been batting first or second in the order and her confidence is growing by the day.

Finally, we’ve started to give back to the Clubfoot community by volunteering for Clubfoot CARES, packing welcome envelopes for new and expecting families that are going to welcome Clubfoot into their lives. We’ve been really blessed with great treatment and a positive outcome and I felt it was important for Sporty to learn to give back. She packs each package and wonders if the family is having a boy or girl and if they will have one Clubfoot or two like she had. It’s really cute and inspiring how she’s embraced it.

Most importantly today is about education. My biggest fear when Sporty was diagnosed with her clubfeet was bullying. I was so afraid that her feet would look different and as she got older she’d get made fun of, cause let’s face it kids, especially girls, are mean. But I’m proud to say that Sporty fully embraces her feet and is confident enough to share and as a result can’t be bullied. She owns it like nothing we ever imagined in our wildest dreams. I expected her to keep her feet a secret at her new school but one day they were discussing what made people different and special and Sporty brought up her feet. Her classmates asked questions, she answered them and the next day she brought in her prior years’ World Clubfoot Day videos as well as casts and AFOs to share with her class. Talk about making yourself vulnerable! But her classmates embraced it and were moved by it. Many of them went home to tell their families about her feet, they googled clubfeet and learned about it and understood it. That’s what this is really about, education, acceptance, and embracing our differences no matter what they are.

So without further delay, World Clubfoot Day ala Sporty to the music of Audra Day. Keep “rising up” people!