A quick clubfoot update while I have a minute! When we went back 10 days ago for the first post-tenotomy casts, M's doctor and all the other clinic staff seemed thrilled with how great his feet looked--they could be flexed up for the first time ever, although it still clearly was uncomfortable for him (it's always hard to tell how much of the discomfort comes from the actual stretch and how much is just a tender foot coming out of the old casts--just touching his foot can set him off some days after cast removal).
But they also told us to expect at least a few more casts. Not much more information was given at that appointment, just to come back in a week. Except when the one week mark arrived, I had a baby with a raging fever due to what seems to be the flu traveling around our house. So we postponed until today. He was still sick, but not quite as badly off.
The good news was the doctor we were supposed to see last week was in the clinic even though it wasn't his regular day, so he came by to see us. He normally is excessively busy but since he didn't have any patients scheduled he spent a bit longer with us and did the casts himself. Our experience has been that he gets a more significant correction than anyone else in the clinic, and today appears to be no exception--the feet are really turned out and flexed up now! (My impression is that flexion is why we are continuing to cast--the right foot in particular is still hard to fully flex, so I think that needs to progress before we can call casting a success.) This means M is in a fair amount of pain today, but that usually subsides within 24 hours so hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
The bad news is that the next few casts will be a slow process, in part due to the holidays. We've also been advised that in older babies it often takes longer for a correction to really "take" because they are growing so much slower. So we go back in 11 days for more casts, and then it will be 3 weeks after that before we go back again. I'm hoping that at that January appointment we are told we're done casting, but no one can tell us for sure. I hadn't expected to have M still in casts at Christmas, so that's disappointing, but I guess the good news is at least we know what to expect for the next month. Casts have mostly become old hat, other than the day they go on which can be hard.
Hopefully we can put the last two weeks of illness behind us, and move on to enjoy a festive and happy December.
But they also told us to expect at least a few more casts. Not much more information was given at that appointment, just to come back in a week. Except when the one week mark arrived, I had a baby with a raging fever due to what seems to be the flu traveling around our house. So we postponed until today. He was still sick, but not quite as badly off.
The good news was the doctor we were supposed to see last week was in the clinic even though it wasn't his regular day, so he came by to see us. He normally is excessively busy but since he didn't have any patients scheduled he spent a bit longer with us and did the casts himself. Our experience has been that he gets a more significant correction than anyone else in the clinic, and today appears to be no exception--the feet are really turned out and flexed up now! (My impression is that flexion is why we are continuing to cast--the right foot in particular is still hard to fully flex, so I think that needs to progress before we can call casting a success.) This means M is in a fair amount of pain today, but that usually subsides within 24 hours so hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
The bad news is that the next few casts will be a slow process, in part due to the holidays. We've also been advised that in older babies it often takes longer for a correction to really "take" because they are growing so much slower. So we go back in 11 days for more casts, and then it will be 3 weeks after that before we go back again. I'm hoping that at that January appointment we are told we're done casting, but no one can tell us for sure. I hadn't expected to have M still in casts at Christmas, so that's disappointing, but I guess the good news is at least we know what to expect for the next month. Casts have mostly become old hat, other than the day they go on which can be hard.
Hopefully we can put the last two weeks of illness behind us, and move on to enjoy a festive and happy December.
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