I was born with clubbed feet, and correction started immediately. Unfortunately, after my family moved, my parents took me to a new doctor who overcorrected my feet (without doing surgery), which caused even more problems. From the time I was 4 years old until just before my 21st birthday, I was a patient of the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children. Between the ages of 4 and 11, I had 15 surgeries, most of which were to correct the mistakes of the doctor who overcorrected my feet.
The Shriners had to release me when I turned 21, because they only treat children. But my treatment was far from over. I was referred to a local doctor who spent part of his residency working at the Shriners Hospital, and he has performed several more surgeries to enable me to keep walking.
Without these surgeries, I would be unable to walk at all, bound to a wheelchair.
My hope is that through telling my story and talking about challenges and positive experiences, I might be able to educate and help others.
