Re: Visit with Dr. Ponseti

[Guest guest]

Great great news Jen!! I'll probably be the same when our time comes

to retire the brace. Congrats to you and Olivia!

& Grace 19mos

urcf FAB 13hrs

>

> Hi all,

>

> We just got home from our visit for a check-up with Dr. Ponseti.

For a

> little history for those who don't remember, Olivia was born 10-18-

01 with

> severe left clubfoot. She was treated by a local doctor with the

Ponseti

> method with 9 casts and a tenotomy. He felt that he got as much

correction

> as he possibly could, but was unhappy with the results. With his

blessing

> we took Olivia at 3.5 months old to see Dr. Ponseti who did another

4 casts

> and a repeat tenotomy. She began wearing her brace 23 hours a day,

but Dr.

> Ponseti reduced her hours after only 1.5 months due to loose

ligaments. We

> decided to continue seeing the local doctor at that point. At 1.5

years

> old, Livie was released from the brace due to loose ligaments. She

relapsed

> at 2.5 years old and her local doctor wanted to do surgery. We

trekked back

> out to Iowa again and Dr. Ponseti recorrected her clubfoot with one

two week

> cast. Livie went back into the brace for 16 hours a day for the

next year.

> She then was reduced to 12-14 and then 10-12 where she is at now.

She is

> currently 4 years 5 months old.

>

> So, we saw Dr. Ponseti yesterday. He checked her all over, worked

her foot,

> compared it to the normal foot, measured her calf, measured her leg

length,

> watched her walk, run and jump, and said she looked great and was

done with

> the brace. WHAT!!!! No, no, no, no, no I say!! He listened to my

concerns

> and agreed (read decided to humor the psychotic mother! LOL) that

she would

> do well with another 6 months in the brace. So we have six more

months of

> brace wear and then 6 months without before we go back to Iowa

again. That

> means I have six months to get my brain around the fact that the

master of

> clubfoot does not think that she will have another relapse and that

it

> really will be okay for her to stop wearing the brace. I'm sort of

amused

> that I've come to this point. There was a time when I was so sick

of that

> stupid contraption and now I don't want to give it up. Or don't

want her to

> give it up I should say. Having already experienced one relapse

and having

> to reintroduce the brace at an older age, I don't want to do it

again.

> Aaaahhhh!! I'm going to drive myself nuts for the next six

months. I need

> to keep repeating to myself that Dr. Ponseti thinks it will be

fine, so that

> means it will be fine!

>

> Anyway, enough rambling about my brace psychosis! We also got to

say hi to

> and as we were going in to see Dr. Ponseti! is

sure

> sprouting up!! And we had dinner with Joyce and . Olivia

and

> are close in age and I think they had a good time playing

together!

> I'm so glad we got to meet them!!

>

> Jen & Livie (10-18-01 severe left clubfoot)

>

>

>