Former Patient Sheila Chaffin Gives $25,000 to Support Clubfoot Care

The LuskinOIC Foundation recently received a heartfelt phone call from former patient Sheila Chaffin. Mrs. Chaffin first came through our doors in June 1949 as an infant diagnosed with clubfoot—or as she affectionately referred to herself, “an out-ie.” From infancy to age four, she was treated by Dr. Ward Randall, spending years in braces and casts. 

She recalls visiting during a time when polio was still widespread, with patients separated into “polio” and “non-polio” lines upon arrival. Children were wheeled through the hospital in wicker chairs—memories that have stayed with her for a lifetime. 

After treatment, she went on to earn degrees from USC and Cornell University, build a career as an architect, raise a family, and pursue ballroom dancing—all possible thanks to the care she received at LuskinOIC as a child.

Now 76 and living in Alabama, Mrs. Chaffin recently returned to our campus. She was deeply moved by how much had changed and how much had stayed the same — in our mission to care for children in need. She met with Dr. Mauricio Silva, medical director and chief of clubfoot care, before making a $25,000 gift to support our Clubfoot Specialty Clinic. We are honored by her generosity.

[Former patient Sheila Chaffin returned to LuskinOIC to share her story of being a patient in the 1950s, recalling how she was treated with love and dignity as a child; she noted that Dr. Silva exemplified the same compassion today!]