Club feet....(OT baby related)

 My granddaughter had a clubbed foot and wore a splint for a short while.  Then she had a special shoe with a brace for about a year, graduating to using it only at night.  She did have minor surgery at about 6 months to cut a tendon, I believe.  She did walk on schedule at just over a year, and now at 21 months, is perfectly normal.  I have a teen aged nephew who went through this also, and he is fine.

I do have a hard time with a doctor telling you that your son would grow out of it, though...sounds irresponsible to me.  I do hope for the  best for him. 

BTW, Carrie is pregnant again, and for a while they thought the second baby had the same thing, so she had a more in depth sonogram done which showed it is not.  We shall see next month...  I don't know if they could have done anything in utero or not...move the baby or something?  Apparently it is caused by the baby sitting wrong in the uterus, and tends to be hereditary. 

 The splints look so much more comfortable than the casts. I have no advice for you but I'm sure that it'll work out well.

Your baby girl is Gorgeous!  As a retired RN I cared for a lot of babies and small kids with ortho issues.  Anything done for your daughter right now will be relatively easier for her to accept and manage.  Her ability to tolerate the pain and or discomfort of the adjustments being done are at the best level at her current age. Babies of course feel discomfort or pain BUT they have a wide open neural system and pain threshold vs pain mgmt is at it's all time best range!  For example, Babies react to the sting of the needle in a vaccination with first pain, then shock then anger.  They can howl for an hour if they really get worked up.  But the adjustment of casting or splints is different, the initial discomfort is less shocking so they tend not to work themselves up into an anger .  But they can become increasingly uncomfortable and be from slightly cranky to very . Think Teething as the closest example I can give. the Therapist will give you techniques to soothe and help her adjust. 

Your son is apparently older so think Orthodontic as opposed to teething.  There would be a more intense ache that will last longer.  Should surgery be required it will almost certainly be followed up by casting or more extensive brace apparatus. The intial pain of the surgery will be the frightening for you , but it is less difficult for the child to manage. They will be carefully controlled with medication it make the invasive process less tramatic.

I found caring for kids dealing with this was not as difficult as I had worried it would be.  Aside from the normal medical treatment, the focus was on keeping spirits up so they would remain positive and able to deal with physical therapy.  Where just as the child becomes almost comfortable they have to have an adjustment,  the body will learn to recover more quickly over time IF you can manage keeping the child as calm and happy as possible.  Lots of books and coloring sets, a tiny dvd player  or cd player helps distract.  We would always be sympathetic but still treat the child in a matter of fact manner.  once the level of pain or discomfort had been established we would then chat  with them ( weather they we eager to talk or withdrawn ) About animals and sports, cartoons etc. I remember one little girl who explained in great detail to me over the course of her treatment the different smurfs, and Strawberry Shortcake kids.  I may have known more about Transformers,Rainbow Bright and Pretty ponies by the time I retired than I did medicine!!  Coloring and reading to them took their mind off of the pain and sometimes fear they were dealing with.  ( I went from Peds and Ortho  to Oncology)   I think the most important thing I haad to do was make them feel not simply loved and cared for but that they were not in this alone, that other kids go through this too.  Depending on the age the toughest thing was more often felling isolated or alone in the issue.

Oldest case I worked was an 11 year old boy,  youngest was a couple of months old boy. 

I also did work with children in Nicaragua.  They seemed to handle everything better than the American, Mexican and Asian  kids born in the states , Being born into a world with nothing. And I mean NOTHING, they were in awe of the care, attention and being special.  One child was an 8 year old girl who cried when leaving the hospital. I promised to come visit her. When I did she was sooo embarassed because they had dirt floors , and the chickens and pigs would be brought into the main room at night. After spending time in a very clean hospital she felt we would not care for her in the "dirty world " she had always known, I brought her a large box of trash bags and she kept her legs in them all the time .

I know this must feel overwhelming just now. And my heart goes out to you,  but this is do able. They will be okay !! 

Bonita of Bwana

I should inquire with my Dr about this b/c both my brother and I had a club foot when we were born.  Mine self corrected and my brother had to be casted.  They may have done something for me but I don't remember what if anything.  We both walk completely normally now.  I hope the best for you with both of your kids.  How old is your son now?  I can't remember how old my brother was when he got casted but I want to say he was walking already.  I could be wrong though b/c was so young then too.

 I have no advice or experience but wish you the best for both your children

Those pics of your little one are so sweet yet sad (my issues, sorry).  She is absolutely gorgeous and looks so peaceful sleeping away.   What a beautiful little girl

Once again I hope that everything works out fine and that your son's can be treated without too much trauma

Sorry you had such a rough week!

Your daughter is beautiful!  I, too, hope that the splints will be sufficient.  If nothing else, they are much more attractive than the cast. 

Here are some links for you:

http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/medicaldepartments/orthopaedics/clubfeet/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_foot

http://members.aol.com/clubft/links.html - more links

No input on the condition but your little girl is lovely! I wish you the best with getting things "straightened" out and I bet things will be just fine now that you have a doc that is actually interested in being proactive!

My son wears braces (Sure Steps) due to low muscle tone (cerebral palsy) and sees a bunch of therapists through Early Intervention (a program every state must have for 0-3 year olds with developmental delays (at least 1/3 behind where they "should" be) or issues that place thaem at risk for delays. Great program (esp the part that it is free!).

Don't know how old your son is and what problems the club feet have caused him as far as walking I'd say push to get him services, whether splints, braces, or therapy now and when you have spare time worry about chewing out the people that told you to wait. I don't know if botox is used for club feet--it is sometimes used for high tone CP. There are some concerns with using botox for kids, so research that if that's what's suggersted.

Your daughter looks adorable sleeping like a little "tough girl". I am guessing the splints are not bothering her. And from what I hear, most kids don't mind them. Her "bravery" will probably help your son and help you talk to your son about his club foot treatment.

I am interested in hearing more about your son--how old, what problems the club feet are causing, what services he is getting, etc. No doubt we can trade stories of how the health system doesn't alays like proactive moms. Never forget, though, that you are a MOM--Maker of Miracles.

Agnes

Gracie (17 yo RR-mix), Catherine (? yo new RR rescue), John and Gabriella (2 yo humans)

My Godson was born with a pretty severe case of club feet and hands.  At five days old he had surgery on both feet and they were casted, he also got splints for his hands.  His hands rapidly corrected themselves, allowing him at least a 40 degree angle which is what is needed for writing typing etc.

He has had 3 or 4 more sugeries on his feet with a series of casting, shoes with a bar and splints.  Keep in mind that his case is much more severe than yours.  He is now almost three years old, can hold pencils crayons etc.  He is running and jumping and swimming and dancing in his newest set of splints.  They have cars on them and cork on the bottom for grip.

Seeing your daughter's feet in the splints I noticed that her feet look MUCH better than Kieren's ever did as his toes are curled in and his foot is more baseball shaped.  It looks like she is comfy in her splints and they do make a HUGE difference.  She is beautiful and will be fine.  Keeping up with her OT is really important and will take some work but it will be well worth it.  Stay strong and give your kiddos iDog hugs and cuddles!

 Thank you so much everyone for your support, experiences and information. I'm just so happy to hear that all mentioned went on to lead normal happy lives. I don't know if I was expecting to hear bad or good experiences, but I'm happy none were bad.

I agree with you Bonita, Aistlinn has huge pain tolerance  because she is so young and she honestly isn't even bothered by the splints at all. Now my son on the other hand I don't think he will tolerate braces/ casts/ splints anything. He is super active kid and I know no matter what they do it will upset him.

My son is 2.5 years old. His and Aistlinn's are mainly at the knee. The way the OT explained it was like there bones wanted to grow outward from the knee...one sec going to take a picture of my sons knee's to show you what I mean...

Okay my son was being a trooper and let me take a few pictures of his legs- please excuse the diaper its really hot in our house right now lol.

As you can see his left leg is the worst. When Nevyn walks he has to swing his left leg out or else he trips over it. His knees actually hit eachother when he walks- which has been the cause to MANY hospital trips for busted lips and bruised shins. His feet can also turn completely inward. Regardless of these issues he still started walking at 8 months old, and its like he just learned to walk that way, like it never bothered him.

I tried from the time he was born to get him to see someone. I KNEW right from the beginning something wasn't right with his legs, but my doctor would not listen to me.

Before Aistlinn got her casts the OT gave us a list of exercises to do with Aistlinn's legs/ feet. When she saw Nev she told us we could use them on his as well. She agrees his left leg is the worse and that his achilles (?)(sorry if that's the wrong muscle- pretty sure that's what she said) tendon needs to be stretched more, because it doesn't reach to were it should and that's why its turned in.

Aistlinn's legs do the exact same thing as my sons. The shin bows outward like that, and her feet are upward and inward.

Because I was aware of this kind of issue I did not bring it up with the same family doctor that pretty much refused to acknowledge my sons problem. So I brought it up with my OB who treated me while I was pregnant, and she made the referral for my daughter. There was no way I wanted her to have the same problems as him. The OT is actually trying to get a referral for my son from my OB too even though she isn't his doctor. The OT is pretty confident that even if she has to go through my family doctor she will get the referral for my son. She stressed quite a few times he needed to be seen by the Orthopedic surgeon.

I do worry about Aistlinn, it is hard to see her in splints, but I am pretty confident because we caught it early she will be okay. But my son is a whole other ball park. I'm scared of the unknown, and what he will have to go through to be better. 

If I haven't heard anything by next week about my sons referral I'm going to call them. I just need to know he will be seen. This affects his life so much, its very hard seeing him get hurt all the time, because his legs. Most recently at my SIL wedding he split his eyebrow and almost needed stitches- because they said he tripped over his foot... 

I'm sorry if I didn't respond to everyone's posts. I'm so tired I can't really think and write well at the moment- I have got to get Aistlinn's days and night normal lol.

VanMorrison your godson is one strong boy to go through all of that, and I hope he continues to get better

Oh, Man, Vanessa!  I am so glad to see so many helpful responses posted!  The pics of your son actually remind me of a friend's son, and she has gotten pretty lame responses from her doctors, too.  I am going to pursue this with her some more.  Thanks for sharing what's going on with you and your children.

And your baby girl really is beautiful!!  Wishing you all healthy vibes!!

Sounds positive that your daughter's OT is going to get him some help. Good too to have the same stretching exercises for the two of them--he can "teach" his sister how to do them.

From personal experience, I can tell you that there is no way of predicting how disabling a problem will be (or what you think you should have done earlier), and that you need to focus on picking from the options presently available to you.

Lastly, my hat goes off to you for getting your son to be still long enough for the photos. I hope things go well for all of you.

Agnes

Vanessa, when I was a sophmore in HS I babysat a baby who had to have her foot/leg casted.  It was a loooooong time ago but I remember her not minding the casts while I babysat her.  I think she recoverd fine & is now, gulp, an adult.  Your girl is soooooo adorable.  I love the first shot.  She looks so cute sleeping with her mouth open.  So precious.

Liv

 

Awwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!  I just wanna squish her!

I'm sorry I don't have any advice, just wanted to say I feel angry at that doctor for you I wish you all the best for your son.  I feel so bad for him that this could have been avoided if the doctor hadn't made you wait saying he would grow out of it!!  Best of luck in getting it sorted.