Guest guest Posted January 2, 2006 Report Share Posted January 2, 2006 Hey everyone! We made it back Sat afternoon- the roads were awful in MN. We almost didn't go since we found out on Wed that our insurance wasn't going to pay for it. We found out when we went to pick up our referral- would have been nice for them to call us and let us know! Anyway my husband called Dr. Ponseti's office to let them know what was going on and the nurse called back saying that Dr. Ponseti wanted to see Lucas anyway, so to come on in and they'll take care of it! Made my hubby tear up. I'm still in shock at how they seriously seem to care for every single clubfoot baby! After a year of being shuffled around and not getting anywhere with other docs... Lucas' appt went well. Dr. Ponseti did a thorough exam of Lucas- checking out every joint as well as his back to make sure he didn't have anything else wrong. His middle fingers are curled under and Dr. Ponseti figured out which joint is the problem. The hand specialist here didn't do that- just told us to splint them at night. But Dr. Ponseti said nothing could be done about them until later- same thing the doc here says. I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone how amazing he is. He's extrememly gentle- Lucas didn't cry at all until they put the casts on. Barb and Joyce were great as well- I've never seen so many people jumping up and down and making funny faces to please a baby! Dr. Ponseti said he can make Lucas' left foot completely normal, but that the right one already has some scar tissue from the surgery so that one will be stiff. But that he could make it better. He was rubbing Lucas' scar and mumbling " too bad " under his breath, so I'm assuming that Lucas shouldn't have had that surgery- but I was too scared to ask. He did say that Lucas has a difficult clubfoot to treat and the right one is definitely atypical. He also that our doc here can't treat clubfoot like Lucas', but that he can. He said 5 casts and we'd be done. We didn't know that he liked to switch out every 5 days, so we drove back home and our next appt is for Fri. My hubby is going to take off of work and drive back over there and they'll stay for 3 weeks or so until the treatment is finished. This way it'll be much easier for Lucas. It'll go faster and he won't have to be in the car so much (12 hrs each way). So far I cry every time I think about it. He'll be fine in my husbands hands (my mother in law is also going), but I'll miss him terribly! The brace we had here is " not right " according to Dr. Ponseti. He looked like he wanted to spit on it. When he explained the casts to me he said 5 and then he'll be put in a brace- then he glanced in disgust over at the DBB that I brought and said " A different one. " Like I said before- what an amazing man. I think it's got to be very frustrating for him though. Here he has a good proven method of treating clubfoot, he trains docs all the time in his method, and yet he regularly gets babies who have been treated wrong and he has to correct the other doctors mistakes! Okay, time for work and the baby! Thanks for all of your support! Jenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2006 Report Share Posted January 2, 2006 Jenn, I'm glad you had a safe trip to Iowa! Yes, Dr. Ponseti can change the casts every 5 days if the family is staying there for the duration of the treatment, or he'll do it every 7 days if they're driving back and forth. When was getting casts applied, we would drive there every Sunday (from the U.P. of Michigan), have the appt. on Monday morning, then drive back on Monday evening. Were you initially getting care for Lucas in the Twin Cities area or somewhere else in the state? Will your husband be staying at the RMD house? I'm guessing that he'll get to meet up with and ! Please keep us posted on how things go! Regards, & (3-16-00, left clubfoot) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2006 Report Share Posted January 2, 2006 We were initially getting treatment here in S.Dakota. The doc originally treating Lucas was trained by Dr. Ponseti, but went on sabatical last June. He referred us to another ortho surgeon to do the surgery. Dr. Ponseti said that Dr. Eckrich (original doc) couldn't treat Lucas' difficult clubfoot.... It's all water under the bridge now, but I really wish I'd investigated this further before the surgery! They will try to stay at the RMH, and he knows will be there. He's worried about being by himself, but I know he'll do fine! Jenn > > Jenn, > I'm glad you had a safe trip to Iowa! Yes, Dr. Ponseti can change the > casts every 5 days if the family is staying there for the duration of > the treatment, or he'll do it every 7 days if they're driving back and > forth. When was getting casts applied, we would drive there > every Sunday (from the U.P. of Michigan), have the appt. on Monday > morning, then drive back on Monday evening. > Were you initially getting care for Lucas in the Twin Cities area or > somewhere else in the state? Will your husband be staying at the RMD > house? I'm guessing that he'll get to meet up with and > ! > Please keep us posted on how things go! > Regards, > & (3-16-00, left clubfoot) > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2006 Report Share Posted January 2, 2006 I am so happy that your son has gotten the chance to see Dr. P and that things are going to start getting better for him. I know that having to be in adifferent state while your husband and son are in another one is going to be hard and that you will miss them very much. I have been there when my husband had to spend 4 months in Seattle while the kids and I were back home. It got to the point that the phone calls were not enough for me. I talked to my bestfriend about this and she told me that it is hard on any person, but to always remember that it is for the best and what we are doing is for our loved ones. It's not FOREVER!!! They will be coming home soon. Take this time to relax and think of you for a change. When they get home you will feel much better and beable to take charge again, but in a different frame of heart, mind and soul. Her sayings are always with me to this day. I hope this has helped. Bri volng8r1 wrote: Hey everyone! We made it back Sat afternoon- the roads were awful in MN. We almost didn't go since we found out on Wed that our insurance wasn't going to pay for it. We found out when we went to pick up our referral- would have been nice for them to call us and let us know! Anyway my husband called Dr. Ponseti's office to let them know what was going on and the nurse called back saying that Dr. Ponseti wanted to see Lucas anyway, so to come on in and they'll take care of it! Made my hubby tear up. I'm still in shock at how they seriously seem to care for every single clubfoot baby! After a year of being shuffled around and not getting anywhere with other docs... Lucas' appt went well. Dr. Ponseti did a thorough exam of Lucas- checking out every joint as well as his back to make sure he didn't have anything else wrong. His middle fingers are curled under and Dr. Ponseti figured out which joint is the problem. The hand specialist here didn't do that- just told us to splint them at night. But Dr. Ponseti said nothing could be done about them until later- same thing the doc here says. I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone how amazing he is. He's extrememly gentle- Lucas didn't cry at all until they put the casts on. Barb and Joyce were great as well- I've never seen so many people jumping up and down and making funny faces to please a baby! Dr. Ponseti said he can make Lucas' left foot completely normal, but that the right one already has some scar tissue from the surgery so that one will be stiff. But that he could make it better. He was rubbing Lucas' scar and mumbling " too bad " under his breath, so I'm assuming that Lucas shouldn't have had that surgery- but I was too scared to ask. He did say that Lucas has a difficult clubfoot to treat and the right one is definitely atypical. He also that our doc here can't treat clubfoot like Lucas', but that he can. He said 5 casts and we'd be done. We didn't know that he liked to switch out every 5 days, so we drove back home and our next appt is for Fri. My hubby is going to take off of work and drive back over there and they'll stay for 3 weeks or so until the treatment is finished. This way it'll be much easier for Lucas. It'll go faster and he won't have to be in the car so much (12 hrs each way). So far I cry every time I think about it. He'll be fine in my husbands hands (my mother in law is also going), but I'll miss him terribly! The brace we had here is " not right " according to Dr. Ponseti. He looked like he wanted to spit on it. When he explained the casts to me he said 5 and then he'll be put in a brace- then he glanced in disgust over at the DBB that I brought and said " A different one. " Like I said before- what an amazing man. I think it's got to be very frustrating for him though. Here he has a good proven method of treating clubfoot, he trains docs all the time in his method, and yet he regularly gets babies who have been treated wrong and he has to correct the other doctors mistakes! Okay, time for work and the baby! Thanks for all of your support! Jenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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