Mitch, who just turned two years old in October, hasn’t taken her first steps yet. She was born with amniotic band syndrome, a condition which caused her to have clubfoot, contracted knees, and severely limited mobility. She was also born with a thicker palate, which means she hasn’t been able to talk yet, either.
But Mitch doesn’t let any of those factors hold her back. She may not be able to talk, but she sure can smile, and she loves imitating trendy poses and taking selfies. She may not be able to walk, but she is a dancing machine. Mitch is too busy doing what she can do—making friends, singing, giggling—to worry too much about anything she can’t do.
Even though she’s making the best of her situation, Mitch’s parents want more for her. They want her to be able to walk, talk, and do anything she wants to do in life. After being seen by a team of doctors from the Tebow CURE Hospital at the mobile clinic, they decided to trust Tebow CURE with their daughter’s medical care. Her treatment began right away with casts to prepare her legs for surgery.
It will be a long journey to healing for Mitch—one that began with an actual long journey. Her family lives in the southern region of Mindanao and the Tebow CURE Hospital is further north, in Davao City. Still, when they finally arrived at the hospital, Mitch came through the doors with a huge smile on her face and plenty of battle scars on her formerly-white casts. Her mom, Marites, said, “We were worried she would ruin her casts because she kept moving!” But we love the holes this mover and shaker wore into those casts. They serve as further evidence of her indomitable spirit.
Thankfully, Mitch’s surgery went even better than expected. The casts she had worn out did their job and all she needed in this first surgery was an Achilles tendon release. "This is what you call a miracle of God," Dr. Jun said as he wrapped up Mitch’s procedure.
There will be more procedures for Mitch, but for now, she’s healing nicely. We recently saw her at the mobile clinic near her home, where, once again, there were many patients and a long wait. That didn’t bother Mitch. She decided to take a nap on a table while she awaited her new casts.
Long waits, long journeys, a long healing process… these inconveniences might be discouraging to other people, but not to Mitch and her family. Between their determination and patience and your prayers and support, we are confident Mitch will find the healing she deserves!
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