From the begining...

Let me start from the beginning.  I found out my son would be born with bilateral clubfeet from my 20 week ultrasound.  It was a shock to say the least.  I had an idea of what it was but no idea of what it would be like.  I phoned my mother and she  instantly began to cry and someone mistakenly googled it and showed her some pretty scary pictures of babies with curly crab feet, as I like to call them, and she cried even more.  When I got home I did my own research and was relieved because other than that he was perfect!  Clubfeet is not life threatening, it's not even that abnormal.  Yes maybe 1 in 1000 kids will be born with clubfeet but once I found out my son would be born with clubfeet, people from all over were suddenly telling me they had clubfeet or knew someone who had clubfeet.  The key word here is 'had', meaning it is fixable.  Notice I didn't say curable. That's because it's not a disease, you child is not sick, so don't treat them like they are.  I am lucky enough to live in a country where clubfeet does not go untreated (yes some countries don't) and where I have free health care(got to love Canada).  I am so grateful for those two facts because it means that, being a single mom, I can tackle this head on and not have to worry about ending up broke and on the streets.  I can focus on supporting my son as he goes through this remarkable journey, as we go through it together with the help of my family and friends.

Yes I was scared of this unknown territory but I was just glad that he was happy and healthy.  His treatment began at a week old.  We went to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario(CHEO) to meet with the Orthopedic Surgeon to see what needed to be done.  They took pictures of his feet, from all angles and xrays and did a physical exam on his feet and the extent of his deformity.  His clubfeet was localized to his feet and his hips were not affected, which was great news.  So they manipulated his feet into the first position and casted him right away.  This method of casting is called the Ponseti Method, and this is done by correcting the feet with stretching and casting until the bones are set into the proper positions.   He did great with his new casts.  Later that day he also had his circumcision, so all together is was a rough day.

pre-correction

For the next 9 weeks we went back to the hosital and a weekly basis to get new casts on.  One week his foot retracted a little inside his cast so we had a small set back where he needed one foot recasted mid-week.  I remember soaking him in the large basin sink at the hospital because it was winter and I didn't want to soak him at home and then drive to the hospital all cold and damp.  I was never alone, one of my parents always came with me for support and an extra hand when needed.

Casts

Before the last cast was set he underwent a Percutaneous Achilles Tenotomy, which just means cutting the tendon to lengthen it so that his heel could drop down.  It sounds scarier than it is really.  This is usually done in the same room where your child gets his or hers casts, Fionn's was done in the body shop at CHEO.  They sterilize the area and give a local anesthetic and the procedure takes no more than 10-15 minutes.  The last set of casts then stay on for 3 weeks to give the foot time to heal.  Once the serial casting is done we moved on the the foot abduction brace to keep his feet from relapsing.  He wore these 23/7 for 3 months before graduating to night and nap time wear.  It was difficult, yes, but necessary.  He got really strong in his little legs from the lifting and smashing down.  the inside rails of his crib are all banged up and so is the sides of his change table.  No chance of salvaging those.  The 3 months was easier than the night and nap time wear.  Because now he'd had a taste of freedom and it was more difficult to put them back on.  And then there was the fact that he was a little Houdini and could somehow get his feet out of the brace no matter what I did.  But back on they went.  We got a lot of stares when we went out and if someone was brave enough to ask then I was glad to tell them all about clubfeet and his correction process.

Fionn's boots and bar

with Grandma

reading before bed

We did our best to be diligent with his brace but to be honest we slipped up a bit too.  We had a trip to calgary to visit my brother for 2 and a half weeks and I FORGOT the brace at home.  I kicked myself for that.  Then there was the time that he broke his right leg(long story, mostly my fault, worse mother of the year award right there and all) and he was in a cast for 6 weeks, so no brace wear there either.  All in all I could have done better but we can only go forward from here right?

in the ER waiting to be seen, broken leg

broken leg cast

I know you

lounging

playing with cousin Felix

paint mess at Granpa's house

He had his most recent exam a couple of weeks ago and we were informed that he was relapsing and that his tendons are just way too tight and stubborn.  He needs surgery.  Major surgery.  Our orthopedic surgeon told us that this would have most likely been the same outcome had he worn his boots every single nap and night time.  His feet have always been very tight and unwilling to comply much.  And now that he has outgrown his current pair of boots(and they mentioned last time that this was the biggest pair) our doctor has allowed him to not contibue to wear them for the time being.  Fionn is happy with that, I'm a little skeptical. Sure it's easier and a lot less trouble at bedtime routine but his feet just keep getting worse.  His right foot does not touch ground at all and his feet round in so much that he trips over his own feet all the time.  He also gets sore very fast and walks on the outsides of his feet, I can see the redness at the end of the day    This surgery would have two procedures.  The first being the Anterior Tibialis Tendon Transfer or ATTT.  The surgeon moves the anterior tibialis tendon to the outside of the foot where a button on the bottom of the foot holds the stitches and anchors the tendon in its new location.  The second procedure is hind foot release(that's what he called it but my research tells me that the procedure is call Posterior Release or Posteromedial Release) to help the heel drop down.  This one is extensive and usually means taking apart the back of the foot and reconstructing it.  So now I'm in shock again and have a list of questions and we are going for a second opinion tomorrow.  If he really does need this surgery and it can't be fixed with more casting then we will deal with it.  So now we're up to speed and I'll have another update tomorrow once we talk to the other orthopedic surgeon.  C'est la vie.  We just keep taking it one day at a time.