“We Will Follow Him to the Ends of the Earth” Young Girl Battling Clubfoot Receives Miracle Flight to the Doctor Who’s Changing Her Life
Las Vegas, NV
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October 06, 2020 08:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time
After years of improper medical treatment for clubfoot, 8-year-old Lucy Arnold was finally on the road to recovery. Then her doctor moved a thousand miles away.
For Lucy’s parents, the question was never if they would follow Dr. Matthew Dobbs, who relocated his specialty practice from St. Louis to West Palm Beach last month. The question was how this family of 12 from Benton, Arkansas, could manage the significant cost of travel to make it work.
“It used to be an easy six-hour drive to get to St. Louis, but the move added an extra burden,” says Lucy’s mother, Amy. “You have airfare, hotel and transportation on top of deductibles and co-pays.”
Then a Facebook post from Miracle Flights caught Amy’s eye. The national charity provides free plane tickets to families who need access to specialized medical care far from home. Lucy and her parents took their first Miracle Flight on September 19 for surgery to correct Lucy’s left leg. The family leaves today on their second flight for follow-up casting.
“Miracle Flights has taken such a burden off our family financially,” says Amy. “They also took all of the planning off our plate. They found us the best flight options and even lined up ground transportation from the airport to the hospital. It saved us so much time, we could just focus on Lucy.”
The clubfoot that affects Lucy’s left leg presents with another rare condition: spina bifida. While only 0.05% of Americans have spina bifida, between 30 and 50% of those affected also have clubfoot. The condition can nearly always be corrected with proper treatment. For Lucy, that proper treatment has been difficult to find.
Lucy’s medical journey began in her native China and continued with serial casting treatments in the United States. After three failed procedures, her parents knew it was time to seek yet another medical opinion. Research led them to nationally renowned clubfoot specialist Dr. Dobbs.
“We are so thankful we found Dr. Dobbs,” says Amy. “We will follow him to the ends of the earth.”
And Miracle Flights will pay for every flight to get there.
To lend your support to Lucy’s journey—or to request a flight for your own family—visit miracleflights.org.
About Miracle Flights
Miracle Flights is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free air transportation to children and adults who need help reaching specialty medical care only available far from home. The organization, founded in 1985, has provided 132,482 flights and typically books more than 600 flights per month on commercial airlines across the United States. To request a flight, learn more or donate, call 800-359-1711 or visit miracleflights.org. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram.
