When I was 16 weeks into my second pregnancy, I found out my baby was going to be born with clubfoot. Clubfoot is when one or both feet are turned inward or outward. The affected foot is usually smaller than the other. Treatment is usually successful through a combination of casting, stretching, and taping. This was the first of several anomolies that my second son, Daniel, would be born with.
After my doctor told me they saw through ultrasound that Daniel would be born with clubfoot, she told me at this point this is when people decide if they want to continue with pregnancy or not. I was baffled by that statement. I didn’t understand why I would need to terminate a pregnancy just because my baby would have slight imperfections. I continued with pregnancy and had a C-section at 37 weeks. He went straight to the NICU for several complications.
Daniel’s foot was casted a few days before coming home from the NICU. We had weekly appointments for 8 consecutive weeks to stretch the foot by manipulating it into the corrected position and held in place with a leg cast. Daniel did not like this process. He cried the whole time when they would reposition his foot while re-casting.
To fully correct his foot after the casting period was done, Daniel had a minor procedure to cut the achilles tendon to release tightness. Daniel was casted after the procedure for three weeks in order for the tendon to heal.
Even after successful casting, clubfoot naturally has a tendency to reoccur. Daniel has been wearing special braces attached by a bar for two years since he was 6 months old to ensure his foot will stay in the corrected position. At first this was really hard for him. He likes to move and is very active so having his feet restrained wasn’t his favorite thing. But that didn’t stop him from finding his own ways to move around.
In the beginning Daniel wore the shoes 22 hours a day. That number eventually decreased and now he needs to only wear them at night. We’ve worked really hard to get his feet where they need to be. This delayed him with his gross motor skills a little bit. He wasn’t walking by himself until he was almost 2 years old. But physical therapy helped tremendously.
We recently switched orthotic providers and our new provider is trying something different with his feet. We’re going to start putting orthotics inside his shoes with a strap over his foot to help his toes straighten out. This may allow him to not have to wear the braces at night anymore, however he will have to wear the shoes all day.
Daniel is really thriving despite having a slight delay from his clubfoot. We’ve dropped his PT to once a week now which means he’s catching up to other kids his age. We hope by his third birthday he won’t need PT anymore. Daniel is very active and has a lot of energy. Nothing holds him back from running around, not even a clubfoot.
