Re: ] Re: Newbie here

[Guest guest]

Yes, it is so great to meet up with others who are going through this process.

I am learning that it is a complex and lengthy process, although with good

results in the end for the vast majority of kids. I am taking it one day at a

time right now so I don't get overwhelmed. I wish I had a real life person near

me who is walking this road, but I am so grateful to have this group to connect

with.

Regarding the stretching....the orthopedist just meant for me to stretch her

feet a bit several times a day so they retain their flexibility. Right now they

are very flexible and can be moved into a corrected or almost corrected position

and he didn't want to lose the flexibility since we are waiting 10 days to

recast because of the bruising. He told me not to do anything which is

uncomfortable for her...as that would be a sign I was moving her feet too far.

I am just gently stretching and holding her feet several times a day (while

nursing, usually) and she doesn't bat an eye. I don't think it can prevent the

loss of what we have gained but might keep her a bit more flexible. We are back

on Monday for more casts and I am anxious to get started again. The sooner we

start, the sooner we are finished! I will push for less days between castings

to avoid bruising in the future, hopefully.

Carol and , bcf, one month old

Re: Newbie here

Welcome, Carol and !

I can't help you with the curly-toes thing. Some extreme cases

where the toe bends under the foot are treated by " clipping " the

tendon. Some toes are taped to the other toes to help them

straighten out, and others are just left alone. Hopefully your

doctor can give you some advice on the tootsies.

How often is your doctor changing 's cast? If she's growing

too fast over the 7 day period, they've actually shown that the

casts can be changed every 5 days with success. Dr. Ponseti uses

this " every 5 day change " for families who have traveled to Iowa

City for treatment to shorten their length of stay.

Since will be out of the cast for 10 days, it's most likely

that she will lose all of the correction that she had. Hopefully,

it will go better the second time around for you.

If you don't mind sharing- what doctor/hospital is treating ?

There is a lot of good information in the files, links, and photos

sections on this site. Hopefully it will help you out. If you're

interested in researching some- here's a link to a website with

lists of Internet links concerning the Ponseti method:

http://members.tripod.com/ponseti_links-ivil<http://members.tripod.com/ponseti_l\

inks-ivil><http://members.tripod.com/ponseti_links-ivil<http://members.tripod.co\

m/ponseti_links-ivil>>

I hope this helps-

Regards,

& (3-16-00, left clubfoot)

http://ponseticlubfoot.freeservers.com/<http://ponseticlubfoot.freeservers.com/>\

<http://ponseticlubfoot.freeservers.com/<http://ponseticlubfoot.freeservers.com/\

>>

>

> Hi there!

>

> My beautiful daughter was born almost a month ago with

> bilateral club feet. She is being treated with the Ponseti

method.

> I have a couple of questions. First of all, both of her big toes

> curve inward toward her other toes and the second toe on her left

> foot sticks way up. Is this common for babies born with club

feet?

> The toes do not look to be in a normal position even when the feet

> are held in a corrected position. (She has moderate club feet

which

> are responding very well to the casts and her right foot is almost

> at correction with two casts. She will not need a tenotomy on

that

> foot.)

>

> Also, after we removed her second cast, her legs were bruised and

> her orthopedist recommended that we take a 10 day break with the

> casting to give them time to heal. Her orthopedist was trained by

> Dr. Ponseti and appears to be very careful and precise so we don't

> believe he caused the problem with carelessness or ignorance. My

> theory is that she grew too quickly for the casts. We are very

tall

> people and have big kids who grow quickly so I think that is what

> happened. Has anyone else had this experience?

>

> I am very new at dealing with this issue. I had three other

> children without club feet before was born so I have lots

of

> questions. I look forward to getting some information and

practical

> tips and support here. I don't know anyone with a child with club

> feet so I feel pretty alone in my struggle with . Thanks in

> advance for any help,

>

> Carol, mom to four kids, including an absolutely perfect baby girl

> with club feet

>