Almost two months ago my father-in-law gave me a clipping he cut from his daily paper. It was about a 15-year-old girl from the Philippines who was born with severely clubbed feet (club foot is a birth defect where the foot is twisted in, inverted and down, thus the person with clubfeet appear to be walking on the sides of their feet or on their ankles.) and complicated by another birth defect that involves the incomplete development of the spinal cord or its coverings called spina bifida. He thought I might be interested since it is news about “home”. And indeed I was, and I thanked him. That same girl, Jingle Luis, took her first unaided steps Wednesday, July 2 in the first shoes she’s ever worn. Isn’t that amazing? To be able to walk for the first time on her own after some successful operation, I just can’t imagine her excitement and jubilation. Thanks for the technology we have today, if used right can really be beneficial to the people. Her surgery was performed for free in Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, the same hospital whose staff physician traveled to the Philippines in 2003 with a Christian relief mission. Thank God.

But this reminded me of my best friend in grade school. She has clubfoot, severe too, and sometimes those naughty kids tease her about her disabilities. And since those boys kind of fear me, they would stay away from her when I was present. That was so hard for her then. I don’t know where or what happened to her now. So I just wish her well in life, just like Jingle Luis.

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