Visit with Dr. Ponseti

[Guest guest]

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)