Children screened at Shriners’ clinic

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OWATONNA — For some, it meant a second opinion on a concerning ailment. For many others, it meant the first glimpse of hope. Families on both ends of that spectrum spent about a half-hour Saturday morning being seen at the Owatonna area Shriners screening clinic held at the Steele County Community Center.

Now in its 12th year, the screening clinic is intended for children under the age of 18 with a treatable orthopedic condition. The care is given at no cost to the child or their family, as the Shriners Hospitals for Children has actually been providing free care for children since 1922.

Medford resident Melissa Underdahl found out about the clinic when a Shriner stopped in at her office in Faribault with a sign to hang in the storefront window. Instead of just taking the sign and going on with her day, she thought of her 19-month-old son, Tyler, who has one leg that turns inward and causes him to be bowlegged from the knees down.

“I had talked to my physician about it, and he said he’ll grow out of it,” she said. “But I thought this would be a good way to get a second opinion. I was thinking, what a great way to do that with an organization willing to help out medically if there is something more wrong with it.”

As Underdahl and other parents entered the center Saturday morning, they were greeted by four men eager to help and a clown ready to entertain. The character clown, known as Fancy, had a stockpile of balloon animals ready to give to waiting children. Whether it was a frog, squirrel, cat, dog, giraffe, or even a flower or sword, the timid child would first hide behind their parent’s shoulder, unsure of how to respond to the painted face man. Eventually, the child would peek out with a sly grin and take the oddly-shaped balloon.

“The kids, sometimes, get a little upset. Over the years, we’ve found that if we have a clown here it helps them calm down,” said Fancy, a Shriner Clown who has helped at the clinic for the past four years. “The little balloon animals help to break the tension and it distracts them so they’re not quite as worried.”

Wearing a black, tattered suit and mismatching socks, his persona could be described simply by his name.

“I’m trying to be as fancy as I can but I have to get stuff where I can,” he said.

Once paperwork is complete, the parents and child go into a private room with a doctor who is brought to the clinic from the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

For Underdahl, that was when she was told her son’s condition was something called “intoeing of the tibial torsion,” meaning an inward twist of the lower leg. The condition, she said, is very common during infancy and childhood, but if it doesn’t straighten out by the time Tanner is 4 years old, she should have it looked at again.

“Thankfully, I will not be needing their assistance at this time, but what a wonderful organization for those that need the service for their children,” she said.

Underdahl said she appreciated the laid back environment of the clinic and the Shriners on hand to help her out.

“It’s a wonderful setting when you have little kids. You come here and you don’t know what to expect, how you’re going to keep them entertained while you’re sitting here filling out papers. But the men that are here helping, they’ve answered any questions I have and come over to make sure I had everything filled out right,” she said. “What’s really nice is that it’s off-site, not at a hospital. It’s not so scary for the kids then.

From there, each child is given a sponsor — a Shriner responsible for helping the child and family with anything related to treatment or care. If a procedure is needed that the Shriners Hospital doesn’t provide, the child will be sent to a facility that can perform the necessary operation, still at no cost to the family.

Since the clinic began in 1999, the Owatonna area Shriners have been able to put more than 140 children through their hospital to get proper treatment whether it be surgery, braces or prosthetics. The Shriners Hospital in Minneapolis even has a pediatric surgeon on staff full-time, something considered unusual for Minnesota, Mussman said.

This Saturday alone, they saw seven new children come through the clinic doors.

“We always say, even if we have one, it’s a success,” Mussman said.

For more information about Shriners Hospital in Minneapolis, call 612-596-6100 or visit www.shrinershospitals.org

Rebecca Rodenborg can be reached at 444-2376.