Clubfoot Saga Update

Last week the final cast came off in the initial series done by Dr. Dobbs. We can't thank him enough for all that he's done and how wonderful her feet are coming along. At the moment she's wearing her FAB for much of the day, getting a little time out each evening in order to relearn how to walk and to stretch her legs a bit. We'll start letting her have more time out as she gains confidence in walking once again.

When we returned to therapy on Monday, Laura was refusing to walk and really didn't want to stand up much, either. Our PT suggested that we encourage her to stand at a table that was high enough that she couldn't bend over it at her waist. Not having such a table meant that Poppy's talent for pulling a rabbit out of a hat, or in this case coming up with something Laura could use was quickly put to the test. This is what he produced, in just a short evening mind you.


When we went back for our second session of PT today, Merri Jo helped me take some pictures to share with Dr. Dobbs so he could see her progress and let us know if we would need further intervention or casting right now. Here is the most important picture we took today.


Let me contrast that with the one taken of her feet before Dr. Dobbs started the casting process. You may remember that we were facing bone surgery in order to correct what was diagnosed as 'heel varus' in about a year or so. Dr. Dobbs suggested casting to recorrect the feet instead. I think it is working!


In the past we've used SMO's to help her with stability, and then to keep her foot from getting any worse. It also seemed to help her be less tired when walking a lot. This morning our PT asked us to put them back on her to see if it helped her with stability again as she learns how to walk after spending a month in casts. She's standing in them at Poppy's table just before we left for therapy. And here she is in them at therapy. You'll note that when compared to her standing without them, she's much more relaxed and doesn't hyperextend her knees. I think we'll be using the SMO's for awhile longer.




All in all, we're quite pleased with her progress and look forward to buying normal shoes some time soon!