Re: Re: Startting to get scared

[Guest guest]

he was in afos for a bit but other than that yes

b.

number23 wrote:

.......so he went about 3 years with no brace before he had the relapse?

s.

If I remember right I think he was almost 1

\\Curious, how old was he during those three months?

s.

Re: Re: Startting to get scared

Noah wore the brace for about 3 months. Then his doctor said he was doing

well enough and didn't need them anymore.

and Claire wrote:

I'm getting to the point that I

> don't even want to take him in. The poor guy has been through so

much!!

>

> Bri,

> son noah lcf

Bri,

I'm very sorry about your son's possible relapse and that you are

worried. I don't blame you. I urge you, though, to go ahead and get

in to see Dr. Dobbs. He is very skilled and experienced. I can

understand you dreading casts on a child of 4, but if you wait, if

his foot has relapsed, it won't get better on its own, and you'll be

on the path to a surgery, which involves casts plus a whole lot more.

The sooner you deal with it, with a skilled doc, the better.

Of course it's normal that you don't deal well with your child being

put through pain! I want to encourage you, though.. and let you

know .. that Ponseti method casting should NOT hurt. It is markedly

different from the casting that many doctors do for clubfoot.

We saw this with our dauaghter. She endured painful casting until we

switched doctors. Once we did, the castings did not bother her AT

ALL. She was silent throughout, smiling, babbling, just looking

around the room. It was a huge difference. It is a gentle

manipulation, which moves the misplaced pieces of the clubfoot puzzle

into the right order, not a wrenching outward.

Many pediatric orthopedists seeing a relapse in a child of 4 would

jump straight to surgery.. but I think it's a wise course of action

to try casting first. I do not think that you are looking at more

than a few .. nowhere near the original 5 to 7.

I don't have any direct experinece with how casting would go in a

child of 4 .. but I believe that, done right, by a practioner as

skilled as Dr. Dobbs, the casting itself should not be painful. I'm

sure parents of older kids who've been in casts can give you an idea

of the practical matters of having an older kid in casts.

Did Noah wear the brace previously? I think it could be that if they

regain correction with a cast or two he'd need to wear the FAB (foot

abduction brace) at night for a while. It is what keeps the foot from

relapsing. (The Markell shoes you are hearing about are part of the

FAB.. they are the white leather shoes which are attached to a bar.)

The older the child gets, the less chance of relapse, diminishing

greatly after age 5 or 6.

Take a look here, starting on page 17, to learn more about relapses:

http://www.global-help.org/publications/cf-english.pdf

I'm sure you'll hear from other parents .. But please don't be afraid

to take your son in to see Dr. Dobbs as soon as you can!

and Claire