A 12-year old girl may soon be able to put on footwear for the first time since her birth, as she awaits an operation to correct a deformed and enlarged foot. Patricia Opoku, Class Five pupil of Akrowa D/A Primary School in the Afigya-Kwabre District of Ashanti, has never put on footwear since birth due to the condition. She was born with a deformity of long toes scattered over the feet. Doctors at Komfo Anokye Hospital say Patricia will need four separate surgeries to correct the condition known medically as gigantism or over-growth. They suspect something went wrong during the formational stages in the womb. The affected foot has sensitive tissues which make it to correspond in growth as Patricia grows. Her condition has made her a laughing stock among her peers because she goes to school bare footed. She keeps in and out of school, in order to avoid the embarrassment and stigma. Patricia has been on admission at the Pediatric Surgical Ward since last year with the hope her family would raise enough funds to enable her undergo surgery. She told me on her hospital bed she would be grateful to God once she is able to wear shoe for the first time after the surgery. Doctors at Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital say treatment of Patricia’s condition will cost, at least, 8,000 Ghana cedis. A Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Emmanuel Adu explains all is not lost for young Patricia. He is not surprised at Patricia's condition because he has seen over 30 of such cases in the last seven years of his practice at KATH. ‘The aim of the operation is to make the foot to put it in a form so that she can wear a shoe. Currently, as the foot is, she cannot wear any footwear at all. The five toes were distributed around the foot so it is not shaped into a form that we normally have”. Dr. Adu explained. According to him, Patricia would be experiencing abnormal growth in that foot without surgery. “As she grows, it would continue to become bigger and bigger. It means that the tissue there is more sensitive to the actions of the growth hormones but it is not a tumor. It is not cancer”. Dr Adu added. Meanwhile, telecom giant, MTN, and its main dealer in the Ashanti Region, Ash Cell, have donated two thousand Ghana cedis in support of Patricia’s treatment. This means she would be able to go for a third surgery. A fourth surgery would be needed when she reaches aged 15.