**Note** Liam was born with a club foot and has been dealing with treatments since he was 6 days old. First was a series of six casts over six weeks, then a tendon elongation followed by a final cast for 3 weeks. Then came the really fun stuff . . . Denis Brown boots and bar . . . Liam had to wear these shoes 23 hours a day for 3 months and now continues to wear them at night.
Last week, Liam had his annual appointment with his orthopedist, Dr. Jarvis, at CHEO to have his club foot checked. And we can finally say that the end of treatment is in sight.
At the end of February after: 2 months of casts, a tendon elongation procedure, 3 months of wearing his Denis Brown boots and bar for 23 hours a day and 2 years and 9 months of wearing them every night, Liam will be finished with his "sleepy shoes".
He will still need follow up appointments at CHEO to make sure his foot stays straight as he continues to grow. We will still have to watch him as he plays to ensure that he is sitting on his bottom, not on his knees. But other than that, everything looks good. Dr. Jarvis was very happy with the progress Liam has made and so are we.
When we watch our little boy run around and play it is hard to believe that there was ever a problem, a problem that caused us so much concern, a problem that we have dealt with every day of Liam's life.
In five months, the "sleepy shoes" will be a memory in the closet to show him when he is older. We will no longer have that daily reminder of how scared we were when they told us, at just minutes old that there was something wrong with his foot.
Tonight, as I took Liam upstairs and lay him in his crib, he looked at me and said, "I need my sleep shoes because it is bedtime." I look forward to the night when I can finally tell him that he doesn't need to wear them anymore.
Wow! This amazes me for a few different reasons. One, I can't believe modern medicine now-a-days. Years ago I think he'd haveto live with his club foot.
ReplyDeleteTwo, the strength your whole family must have from dealing with this for so long.
And three, your strength as a mom. I felt so fragile after the birth of my daughter and she was perfectly fine. I can't imagine what you must have felt.
Kudos mama!
Thanks Kelly! It was really tough at times, but well worth it now, to see Liam run and play. Given that he was also born a month premature, we are lucky that club foot was the only issue we faced!
ReplyDeleteAlthough having dealt with this minor issue with him, I have no idea how parents cope when their children have serious health issues. I can't even imagine!
This is very similar story to mine.I have a cute little boy and name is Marlan ,also he is our first baby.We found out he got a club foot when we were at 20 Weeks scan.
ReplyDeleteWe were so happy the day we got confirmed my wife is pregnant, as soon as we heard our baby going to born with a club foot.......the pain we gone through can not even describe.Had many sleepless nights crying and thinking what went wrong ...no body in my family or my wife's family had any issues at all. Never heard any one had or have any born issues.Only question we had ....why We?
So when he was 30 weeks we went to see physiotherapist called Mr David Harding from Monash Hospital Clayton. So relived. So he explained pretty much everything what gona happen after the birth and the treatments.First time after couple of weeks i saw my wife is laughing.
So we started his treatments when he was only 7 days old and today he got his boots on for 3 months and till 4 yrs... etc. Marlan was bit uncomfortable this morning.Hopefully he will get to use to it soon.We are so happy because wee started his treatments early. According to his improvement learnt one thing,Earlier the best.Can not wait till he finish wearing boots for ever...
Our hearts will go to the parents who cope with their children's health issues.Do not wait till late,seek medical help immediately and start as soon as possible...good luck.
my mom was born with club feet 86 years ago.
ReplyDeleteShe went through many surgeries that were experimental at the Mayo Clinic.
I am sure your son's experience was much better than the stories
my mom told me.
fran