For Keoni, Born with Bilateral Clubfoot, Shriners Children’s Has Always Been There

When Keoni was born 16 years ago, his mother, Kathy, looked at him in awe and amazement. "I remember thinking, ‘Wow, what a beautiful boy,’ and then I thought, ‘Something is wrong with his feet,’” she said.

Keoni was born with bilateral clubfoot, meaning both of his feet were severely turned inward, a condition for which he has received lifelong, ongoing treatment at Shriners Children’s Northern California.

A Family Connection to Shriners Children’s

Kathy and her husband, John, said those first few days felt surreal. They didn’t know what having a diagnosis of bilateral clubfoot meant for their son, but they did know that there were treatment options.

Kathy grew up as an active Job’s Daughter, raising money for Shriners Children’s and aware of the life-changing care that Shriners Children’s offers. Keoni’s father, John, also knew of Shriners Children’s and its work because his grandfather was a Mason. While considering treatment options, the midwife who delivered Keoni and Kathy's sister, who is a paramedic, did additional research. Together, they agreed that Shriners Children’s Northern California was the best place for Keoni.

When he was 5 weeks old, Keoni was at Shriners Children’s Northern California for his first appointment with orthopedic surgeon Joel Lerman, M.D., who continues to treat Keoni to this day.

“Every time I see Dr. Lerman, I want to cry,” said John. “There is just so much gratitude. We now have 16 years of experience with Dr. Lerman and the whole team at Shriners Children’s. The magnitude of their impact on our family is just overwhelming, it’s tremendous. They touch and change so many lives.”

Creating Community

Those early years were a challenge. Kathy, John, Keoni and his siblings live in Mendocino, which is about a five-hour drive from Sacramento, where Shriners Children’s Northern California is located.

For the first year, Keoni was at the hospital every week for a cast replacement, then it became a once-a-month visit. There also were two tendon extension surgeries, the first when Keoni was about a year old, and the second surgery when he was 4. After each surgery there was about eight months of travel for physical therapy as Keoni recovered.

“It took a community to get us through those early years,” said Kathy.

John said the team at Shriners Children’s was a critically important part of that supportive community.

“Everyone at Shriners Children’s is there to support you, at every level of staffing,” said John. “From the janitors, to the front desk, to the nurses, to the physical therapists, to the doctors, they are all just wonderful people who are there to help kids.”

John said that Shriners Children’s also creates an environment within the hospital for the kids and the families to help and support each other.

“When you are there with the other families, it’s like you are all in this together. You can be there to share stories and support each other. It’s uplifting. It’s like you are on an emotional high that carries you through, and it creates an enormous amount of gratitude,” said John.

“Our kids saw a lot of other patients getting treatment for different conditions, including a lot of kids with severe and extensive burns,” said John. “But, it didn’t matter. They just played together. Our older kids learned compassion and caring because of our experience at Shriners Children’s.”

A Part of His Life

For Keoni, his visits to Shriners Children’s Northern California are just a part of his life. He said, “It just feels normal.”

Since he was about 13 years old, he’s been visiting the hospital every six months to get fitted for custom-made orthopedic inserts to support his walking. Keoni’s medical team continues to monitor his Achilles tendons. For patients with clubfoot, the Achilles tendons tighten during adolescence, often leading to additional casting or surgeries. Dr. Lerman checks Keoni’s flexibility twice a year to confirm there is no tightness. Thanks to proper education, exercising and stretching, Keoni has prevented the need for additional procedures.

The Road to the 2023 Shriners Children’s Open

Given his years of treatment for clubfoot, Keoni had veered away from sports, instead exploring interests that include linguistics and science, and hobbies like music and roasting coffee beans.

But when Keoni was in middle school, a friend invited him to play golf. Keoni realized he had the support he needed to master the physical part of the game. He practiced hard, and secured a position on his high school golf team.

When Dr. Lerman learned this, he recommended Keoni to represent Shriners Children’s Northern California as a Standard Bearer at the 2023 Shriners Children’s Open golf tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. Each year patients are chosen to represent Shriners Children’s by carrying the scores of professional golfers during the final two rounds of the tournament. Keoni looks forward to experiencing the tournament up close and serving as a representative on behalf of the Northern California facility.

Keoni said his dream is to play with Jon Rahm, a Masters-winning golfer who was also born with a clubfoot.