No unalterable fate

And Teddy was watching

Alexandra* had no idea why her mother was so distraught.  But a fourteen-month-old girl does feel that there is a worry hanging over the home.  Her right foot was twisted from the inside to the outside in such a way that she had to learn to walk on the outside edge of her foot.  This deformity is known as clubfoot and affects roughly one in one thousand new-borns.

The family live a long way away in Puerto Maldonado, roughly 20 hours by inter-city bus from Curahuasi.  A friend gave them a good piece of advice: Hospital Diospi Suyana.  The mother has now moved with her daughter into the missionary hospital’s vicinity.  In the next three to four months a progressive plaster treatment aims to restore her foot to an almost normal anatomy.

The first time the plaster was applied the brown teddy with his calm air gave Alexandra a lot of courage.  Occupational therapist Susi Rottler is delighted for two reasons.  First, the patient cooperated brilliantly with hardly any tears and, second, Susi knows that Alexandra has an excellent chance of lasting success. (*Name changed)

Plastering the leg in question.
Occupational therapist Susi Rottler and her patient.
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