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It was a shock when doctors placed her newborn son in her arms.
“I couldn’t understand what was wrong with his legs. I thought my child would spend the rest of his life unable to walk,” Marelise Botha (22) says.
Six-month-old Theuns was born with clubfeet, a congenital condition that causes a baby’s feet to turn inward or downward.
“According to doctors there was too little space in my womb, which meant his feet developed inward,” says the stay-at-home mom from Pretoria.
“I’m just glad there’s hope and that one day he’ll have normal feet.”
She says Theuns doesn’t have any pain but when she does stretching exercises with him he becomes uncomfortable and groans.
Marelise’s husband, Werner, is a foreman in the Eastern Cape.
“He recently had to move there and it’s made it difficult for us to take Theuns to the hospital every time.”
Since his birth, Theuns has had five orthopaedic casts to systematically repair his feet.
Theuns and Marelise will soon see doctors at the Mediclinic in Faerie Glen to find out when he can go for the operation.
But the young mom has another dilemma.
“The operation costs about R120 000 and we don’t have medical aid. We’re relying on family and friends as well as donations to collect money for his operation.
“We’re hoping and praying Theuns will have the operation in the next few months.”
Pictures: Supplied
