Dr. Ignacio Ponseti. Ever heard of him? I hadn’t until a month or two ago when our state public radio station ran a story about the life of this amazing doctor. He’s a shining example of a hero from the past who impacted the lives of countless children with special needs, specifically those born with clubfoot.

Dr. Ponseti’s Amazing Story

Dr. Ignacio Ponseti developed the Ponseti Method for treating clubfoot in infants. He perfected the non-surgical technique, which eliminated the need for a painful and often unsuccessful operation, during the decades he practiced at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. He retired in the 1980s, went back to school for an art degree, and immersed himself in painting.

But the rise of the internet in the early 1990s changed all that. Parents of children with club feet began reading about his method. Soon he was getting inquiries from all over the world, and he reopened his practice. He worked with children and trained practitioners around the world. He saw his last patient in the morning of the day he died in 2009. Shortly before lunch that day, a fatal stroke felled Ponseti at age 95.

Dr. Ponseti’s Amazing Legacy

Thanks to Ponseti’s work, generations of children born with clubfoot are now adults who walk and run and move with ease. All because of a treatment that required no surgery. The thought of how this man not only healed children, but also spared the emotional trauma and physical pain of surgery brings me to tears.

How I wish I’d had the chance to meet and thank him for his pioneering work and compassion for children. Though that’s not possible, I can encourage you to listen to the story, How Infants Learn & Remembering Dr. Ignacio Ponseti, at the IPR website. The Ponseti story begins about 20 minutes into the interview and is worth the wait.

Tell Your Story

Have you or has your child benefitted from the Ponseti Method? Did you meet him? If so, please tell your story in the comment box.

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