Dylan in Benin
Edith was distraught on the bus ride home with her son Dylan, born with clubfoot. She had just received word from the hospital to come back in a year for treatment. A year? What would that mean for her son? Surgery was the only option she could conceive.
Little did Edith know there was a fellow passenger on the bus that day who overheard and noticed her distress. Little did she know he would give her news that would change her life forever.
This gentleman was a pastor who knew about clubfoot and that treatment using the Ponseti method of casts and braces should begin immediately. Not too long before, one of his church members gave a testimony to thank God for her child born with clubfoot and the healing she found at the Hope Walks partner clinic at the Bethesda Hospital. God’s timing is always perfect!
However, when Dylan’s grandmother saw him in casts she blamed the parents and called together the family elders in an attempt to stop the treatment process. This process delayed Dylan’s weekly casts and potentially derailed his clubfoot correction. When the Hope Walks parent advisor made a visit to Dylan’s home, the grandmother did not want to let him in.
But just like the slow and gentle manipulation used to straighten the feet, the grandmother’s heart too was changed over time. In the end, she realized the treatment process at the Hope Walks clinic was the best plan for her grandson. She even visited the clinic to apologize to the parent advisor for the way she acted. This is why we say your impact is never just physical. It’s relational, social, financial and spiritual.
