Local Racing Family Seeks Help From Racers

(Press Release from Dale Wolbrink)

Nowadays there is a ‘day’ for everything. This week alone there is Mint Julep Day, Senior Health & Fitness Day even “Go Barefoot Day”-just to name a few. But to a local racing family, the most important day of the week is June 3-World Clubfoot Day.

Despite its commonality, most Americans have only casually heard of clubfoot, if they have heard of it at all. Owners of Victory Lane Designs, Keith and Kristin Nason, were certainly among the norm. But, in recent months, they have learned first-hand about the “special foot” as they prefer to refer to it.

Earlier this year their daughter Hailey Belle was born with a clubfoot. Just over two months old this brave little girl is on her seventh cast. But this treatment is much less invasive then it has been in the past.

Now the young family is looking to accelerate awareness of clubfoot. And, they are asking for help from racers and fans.

Ponseti International Association (PIA) has designated June 3 as World Clubfoot Day. The date was chosen to commemorate the birthdate of Dr. Ignacio Ponseti, (1914-2009) the developer of the Ponseti Method to treat clubfoot.

On Saturday, the Nasons are asking for racers to snap a picture of their foot on the accelerator of their racecar and then post it on social media-Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. using the hashtags #WorldClubfootDay #AccelerateAwareness. Fans are asked to support the effort as well by taking a picture of their foot against the accelerator of their personal vehicles and posting it using the same hashtags.

Too young to drive? That’s okay. Still post a pic of your foot! On Facebook, also consider using the hashtag #BeastMode4HaileyBelle.

“By designating June 3 as World Clubfoot Day, not only do we celebrate the life and contributions of Dr. Ponseti, but we help further his belief that every child born with clubfoot is entitled to treatment using this low-cost, non-surgical approach,” said Dr. Jose Morcuende, CEO and Medical Director of Ponseti International (as quoted from http://www.ponseti.info)

According to the March of Dimes, the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health, clubfoot is when one foot or both feet point down and turn in. This happens because the tissues that connect muscles to bone in a baby’s leg and foot are shorter than usual. This pulls the foot into an abnormal position. Clubfoot is a common birth defect. About 1 in 1,000 babies is born with clubfoot in the United States each year.

While there are several methods of treating club foot, the Ponseti method of stretching and casting is the most common treatment for clubfoot. It usually starts in the first few weeks of the baby’s life and includes stretching the baby’s foot toward the correct position before the leg is casted (from toe to upper thigh). Every 4 to 7 days, the baby’s foot is moved closer to the correct position and receives a new cast. Some treatment requires minor surgery to cut the heel cord or Achilles. This allows the heel cord to grow to a normal length. Treatment ultimately includes the use of special shoes and/or braces for several years.

“We have the good fortune of living so close to Boston and world-class healthcare,” said Kristin Nason. “We learned of Hailey condition before her birth and thanks to Boston Children’s Hospital our beautiful baby girl is getting the best possible care. The professionals there helped us make the correct decisions and are helping make this whole process a bit less scary for us.”

The Nasons; however, know that not all new parents have access to the abundance of information they have been given or the caliber of healthcare professionals. Their goal for this Saturday, June 3, is to build awareness by harnessing the compassion of the racing community through the power of social media.

“We want to accelerate awareness of clubfoot so that parents everywhere will have more knowledge and hopefully be less scared upon learning of this diagnosis,” added Keith Nason.