The paediatrician and nurses all said "don't worry it's easy to fix" and Alex was fitted with his first plaster casts up to the knee by an orthopaedic surgeon when he was six days old.

When Alexander was nine weeks old, the orthopaedic surgeon told us we should face the fact that Alex would be scheduled for (major) surgery on both feet when Alex was about 12 weeks old. It was a great shock, because I had always believed that the casts would do the trick.

At the time, the surgeon told us that the treatment of clubfoot in South Africa is serial (weekly) casting to try to straighten the foot, but it's primarily to stretch the skin and blood vessels in preparation for surgery. He said that in South Africa, 90% of all babies with congential clubfoot are eventually operated on after casting - at between three and six months old.

Surgery would involve a minimum of 3 hours per foot, the ligaments and tendons are cut and repositioned, pins are put in the feet and the baby is put in full leg casts for six weeks. After this, another anaesthetic so the pins can be removed and the feet are straight. But further surgery can be necessary as the child grows and there are the problems of scar tissue, stiffness, immobility, and even arthritis from the teenage year onwards.

Although we were sure that the doctor was competent, I was against surgery. I had had repeat operations after a car accident. I really didn't want to subject our baby to pain, a long anaesthetic, possible complications and recovery time unless it was absolutely necessary. There had to be another way while his little feet still felt so flexible.

I didn't want to commit to surgery knowing so little about it. I realised that we had been given very little information on the condition and treatment. I decided to search the internet and couldn't believe it when almost immediately, I found a link "No surgery for clubfoot" which led me to the Ponseti Method website. A non-surgical treatment for clubfeet, developed over 50 years ago by Dr Ignacio Ponseti. It can be used successfully in 95% of all cases. After reading all the information on it, it looked like this could be the 'miracle' I was hoping for.

I were amazed that Dr Ponseti himself was still practising at the University of Iowa Hospital at 89 years old - I even found his email address on the website. I immediately emailed Alexander's pictures to him and phoned him the following day. He asked me how many casts Alexander had had so far, when I said 8, his response was in that case, it wasn't being done correctly. He said: "I have looked at the pictures of your son's feet; I can fix them with no problem. You must be here for 20 days, when can you come?"

We were preparing to travel halfway across the world with a 10 week old baby. It wasn't an ideal time for travel, the war against Iraq was in full swing and SARS had just started to mushroom in the Far East and Canada. But we didn't even give that a thought, our baby's feet were more important. We juggled schedules and changed our minds every day about how best to do it.

It felt pretty isolated, swimming against the current of local medical opinion. What helped us immensely was joining a chat group started by parents whose children had been treated by Dr Ponseti. Members from all over the world who had been in the same position were a mine of useful information and a huge support while we went through the rollercoaster of decision-making.

In the short time we were there we met visiting orthopaedic surgeons, one from Mexico who had come to learn the method and another from Sweden who has been using the Ponseti method with success for the past twenty years.

We were able to leave the day after the tenotomy and three weeks later soaked Alexander's casts off in the bath. It was like unwrapping the best present I've ever had as his perfect little feet were revealed. A little red and irritated from being in the cast so long, but otherwise perfect.

To hold the correction and prevent relapse, Alexader will wear a Foot Abduction Brace (FAB) when he sleeps until the age of between 2 and 4 years.

We are very pleased that since our trip to Iowa in April 2003, the Ponseti Method has come to South Africa. Now many more parents have the benefit of alternative choice of treatment closer to home, without the expense of having to travel outside of the country like we did.

The quilt was presented by appreciative "Ponseti baby" parents to Dr and Mrs Ponseti in March 2001. Allyson Egbert, mother of Joshua, who was treated by Dr Ponseti, arranged to have the quilt made and wrote the poem. She used photos of 22 of the Ponseti method babies whose parents had found him through the internet and also a photo of one of the first Ponseti method babies in Uganda.

It was thought that the quilt could be used to wrap around mothers holding their babies while sitting in the Ponseti wooden rocking chair as Dr Ponseti manipulated their babies' feet. They decided to put the quilt up in the waiting room of the section where the children are casted at the University of Iowa Hospital Orthopaedic section.

Martin Egbert, Joshua's father, who has been instrumental in getting the method better known through the internet says: "When Allyson and I first went to Iowa, like many others, we were very nervous, worried, yet hopeful that the Ponseti method was really possible for our son. We sat in that same waiting area wondering what would happen in the next few minutes as our appointment began. I assume that many other parents feel similarly when they are there for their first visit. I think that it is nice that the quilt with all of those children can be there to help greet each new parent and child and help to provide a welcoming comfort for their visit as well."