Mil gracias, Crystal.  El teléfono de la distinguida colega Helena Percas de Ponseti es [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.  Los cervantistas lamentamos en efecto su pérdida.  ARL

From: Crystal Chemris [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 12:37 PM
To: Lauer, A Robert; Mary Gaylord; AnneCruz
Subject: news

Dear Colleagues,


I hope you are well.


I just saw in out local paper that Helena Percas-Ponseti's husband died. I didn't realize it, but Ignacio Ponseti was her husband. He was 95 and a world renowned orthopedic surgeon at the U-Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, known for inventing a non-surgical cure for club foot in babies, using a series of casts and braces to slowly stretch the foot into normal position.  He was born in Mallorca, helped the Republican soldiers as a doctor during the civil war until he had to flee to France; I think he was in a prison camp for awhile. www.press-citizen.com<https://exchange2007.ou.edu/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx> has a photo gallery of him; they call him part Einstein and part Mother Teresa. Apparently he died of a stroke at his desk. His wife is still living and said he loved to go into work to help the babies. His treatment met much opposition and finally the parents spread the word on the internet; babies would come from all over the world, and doctors too, to learn the Ponseti method. What a wonderful life! I believe she is a Cervantista, no?  Maybe she would appreciate the condolences of her colleagues at this time.



Below is a link about Ponseti, available also through the uiowa homepage.

http://www.uihealthcare.com/news/news/2009/10/ponseti.html<http://www.uihealthcare.com/news/news/2009/10/ponseti.html>



Un abrazo,

Crystal Chemris, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish
Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese
111 Phillips Hall
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242
Home Tel.: 319-354-3687 (Central Time)


Web page: http://www.uiowa.edu/~spanport/people/chemris.html
(or go to www.uiowa.edu<http://www.uiowa.edu/>, click on departments, Spanish and Portuguese, faculty (on map), then associated faculty)