The sight of a child walking for the first time brought tears to everyone’s eyes in the room and changed Michael Myers' life twelve years ago.

“The kid must have thought that we were all nuts,” Myers laughed. “That’s when I knew that Father Ed (Gustafson) sunk in the hook and reeled me in.”

When Myers made his first trip to the St. Andrew’s Children’s Clinic, he was approached by a priest who wanted him to talk to a doctor who needed a burn shoe for a child and another who needed a $700 shoe.

“I wound up opening my big mouth and I said 'bring the children to me,'” Myers said.

Myers, owner of Michael’s Comfort Shoe Center in Tucson, now provides orthopedic shoes for the clinic.

“When we came down with a truck filled with used shoes, I was worried because I heard on the news that people were taking things from Salvation Army and selling them for a quarter, dollar, or whatever they could get it for,” Myers said.

Once a month, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Nogales, Ariz., is converted into a health clinic. There, families who travel several hours from Mexico, receive free specialized health care from professionals who volunteer their time.

Every month, Myers travels to Nogales with around 300 pairs of custom made shoes. Because Myers and the other orthopedic staff may encounter children who have uneven legs or different sized feet, they bring all of their supplies.

With the cost of an average pair of shoes ranging from $1600 to $2600, it would be silly to keep buying them for children because they are constantly growing, Myers said.

“We periodically have shoe trade-ins (at the store). I used to think 'What are we going to do with all of these shoes?'” Myers said.

New shoes will be available at the end of next January, Myers said.

“To see the faces of the moms when they get the shoes, not a hand me down but a shoe that is only theirs,” Myers said. “It’s a whole different world for these people because they wouldn’t be able to experience it otherwise.”

With the addition of new shoes, the pressure is on to find a storage place near St. Andrew's. The inclusion of storage places has been halted due to the lack of building funds, Myers said.

“We have really outgrown the church,” said Lucie Thomas, director of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. “The church has been hosting the clinic for over 30 years.”

The owner of the property next to St. Andrew's has agreed to donate the land but the process has yet to be finalized, Thomas said.

“By being next door, we can take advantage of the church,” Thomas said. “We can still have the kitchen and waiting room. It would also allow us to build in stages and still function through the church.”

The church will always function as the heart of the clinic because people have grown attached to it over the years but expansion is also important, Myers said.

In the crowded room, a young girl is instructed to walk after being fitted for a new prosthesis. Because of limited space, there isn’t a designated walking area. So she has to practice walking diagonally with observers watching carefully so as not to get in the way.

“We are working on having meetings with those in charge of certain departments,” Myers said. “We are finding out what they really need.”

Pulling back a plain curtain, Myers points to an area with paperwork and needles placed in a box on the table.

“Wouldn’t you like to have your blood drawn in private?” Myers asked. “This is where they draw blood.”

While it may be awhile before any renovations get underway Myers said he still feels blessed.

“In many cases when a person gets hit by a bus, you can't make them move again like they used to but you can help put them back on the road to life,” Myers said. “We cannot make them as good as new but we can increase their lifestyle and make it easier, so that their mothers don’t have to carry them.”



Having the opportunity to make a difference in child’s life is worth the travel and Myers encourages others to find out for themselves.

“We don’t care who helps. It’s a clinic for kids,” Myers said. “If they are qualified to help, we want them.”