“I met my wife, Mai, in Vietnam. I am a US Citizen. While together in Vietnam, we decided to start a family. Since early 2019, I’ve been back to Vietnam three times. My son Thai’s birth was the last time I was in Vietnam. With the pandemic, the process to petition to have my family move to the United States is taking longer than expected.
Early stages in the pregnancy, there were signs of clubfoot in the ultrasound. My wife, Mai, and I had the concern throughout the pregnancy. He was born January 23, 2020. Nine days after he was born, we took him for Ponseti casting treatment and once a week for the following 13 weeks thereafter.
Every time we took him, he suffered lots of pain. Mai cried each time the doctor put a new cast on Thai. Finally, after doing as much corrections as they could with casting, Thai’s feet were back to a normal position. We could finally move to the brace wearing treatment of the Ponseti method to maintain the corrected feet.
The braces prescribed in Vietnam weren’t the most comfortable for Thai. The hospital issued a pair that were very difficult to put on. It required two people to correctly put them on, plus they were also laced shoes. Mai then was able to find a Velcro brace on a website. These shoes left Thai with blisters on both heels. He was constantly able to kick them off due to irritation and being uncomfortable.
We both did a lot of research to find the correct clubfoot brace for him. I found the Iowa Brace, reached out and left a voice message at the Clubfoot Solutions office. Todd Becker returned my call and from then, we were both so relieved. Shortly after, I receive the Iowa Braces from Clubfoot Solutions to my home in the US. I immediately shipped them to Vietnam.
Mai was so happy with the Iowa Brace shoes. She said that it was everything she had imagine and more. Like bringing a dream to reality. Finally, we could put our minds at ease.
His bruises went away after a short period. We feel confident that the Iowa Brace will maintain his correction for the next four years. I am very hopeful my family can be together in the United States in 2021.” – Tommy
We thank Tommy and Mai for so graciously sharing their story about baby Thai. He is definitely a #ClubfootCutie and we wish him and his family a happy reunion this year!