We had to go to the children's hospital in Vancouver once a week on Tuesdays to have new casts put on. It was very hard at first. Hayden would cry and cry. While trying to comfort him, I was often helping to hold him down because he would kick so hard. Plus, unbeknownst to me, he was not receiving the "pure" Ponseti Method. I began to dread Tuesdays. Over the next few weeks, his treatment did not go well. He was a big baby and it was a hot, sweaty summer. He started to have skin problems under the casts. Hayden had also caught a very bad virus that was going through the family. It made you cough so hard you could not breathe and lasted for several months. His early days of life were not fun. After five casts his feet were not very corrected at all. Botox was used as part of the treatment and he ended up having it twice, to no avail. His feet were very short, fat and thick and they were harder to fix. Something had to change. In spite of how his feet were, Hayden was a very merry fellow and he liked to sleep. He grew at an astounding rate: one pound per week for the first five weeks and then half a pound a week thereafter. Before long I could barely hold him! I met my friend Michelle on the internet through a Yahoo support group called "nosurgery4clubfoot". Her little girl Grace was born with right clubfoot. When she heard Hayden's story, she strongly urged me to take him to see Dr. Shafique Pirani at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. She agreed to meet us at the hospital and even booked the appointment for us. When I saw Grace at 16 months old, walking confidently, it gave me heart. One day my Hayden would be doing the same thing. In November 2005, we went to Royal Columbian for the first time and met our beloved Dr. Pirani. By this time Hayden had already had about 16 casts, including many that had slipped. He also had been put into the boots and bar. Right away Dr. Pirani told us that Hayden's feet were not at all ready to be in the boots and bar and that the bar was too short. We agreed to start casting Hayden again and get him back on track. It was the beginning of happier days for us. Hayden's skin began to improve with a better cotton undersock and his correction increased very quickly. His right foot achieved correction within one cast, his left within three. The Ponseti Method enabled me to hold Hayden on my lap while the casts were being applied. If he cried, Dr. Pirani would stop and let him nurse or cuddle, but he rarely cried. Often he fell asleep. Hayden has what is known as "atypical" or "complex" clubfoot. The deep creases across the top of his heel on the sole of his foot are very hard to correct and take time. The crease is much deeper on the sole of his left foot, which is why the correction was always behind on this one. His left foot is considered his "worse" foot. On December 13, 2005 Hayden had the tenotomy performed on each heel cord. At this point, Hayden was already about four months older than most babies are when they receive their tenotomy. I was very nervous when the tenotomy casts were removed and did not know what to expect. Hayden had not seemed to experience much discomfort, but I was worried about scarring. Tiny purple dots on each calf just above the heel are the only scars from the tenotomy - they are about 1mm in length and you can barely see them. I was very relieved! I consulted with the physiotherapist that day because since Hayden had been in casts for so long he had low muscle tone below the knee. We talked about what we could do to help him gain strength. Hayden was waiting for specially made shoes to come from the U.S. called Mitchells. They are intended for babies who have fatter, more square feet, but any baby can wear them. When they arrived, a mistake had been made. The shoes were two different sizes and there was no hardware to attach them to the bar. We had to send them back. In the meantime, Hayden was starting to have problems with his skin again, so we temporarily put him into the Markells. These are what the majority of kids in Canada wear for clubfoot correction. Hayden went into his Mitchells for full time wear in January '06. He would sit in his "Bumbo seat" to help gain back strength and it wasn't long before he was sitting on his own! My mom even designed a special stroller support for his brace. Before we knew it, Hayden was crawling. He mastered manoeuvring the brace with his body and soon could crawl equally as quickly with or without it. Everything he did was just what any regular kid would do, except he had a bar joining the shoes on his feet. The next few months went by quickly and easily. Before we knew it, Hayden was only wearing the brace at bedtime and naps. Gradually he started to learn how to stand up. For a long time he did not want to do it. The brace never slowed him down once! The only thing stopping him was the slippery wood floor, but he soon found a way around that by placing his brace on a blanket I kept on the floor and pushing up! Hayden's feet started to look like regular feet and the wrinkles on the sides of them slowly began disappearing as his feet grew. Now they just look like little dimples. Hayden took his first steps in October of 2006 and hasn't stopped since! He has always taken everything in his stride. Now he's a regular kid doing regular things. He loves cars, trucks, airplanes, trains and work sites. He gets into plenty of mischief, too! His treatment will go until he is between 4 and 6. He'll see Dr. Pirani until he is about 15. It is so worth it! There is nothing better than the Ponseti Method for clubfoot. When I was pregnant with Hayden, my third child, I felt like I could handle anything that was sent my way. After all, I already had two children who'd experienced a variety of common childhood illnesses and injuries. Although I sensed that something was different about Hayden before he was born, I did not know what it was until the very minute he was placed on me. The next four months were very emotional and stressful as we sought the best treatment for Hayden to have his feet corrected. If there is a history of clubfoot or even in-toeing in your family and you are pregnant, request that the ultrasound technician screen for the possibility of clubfoot. My feeling is that had I known ahead of time I could have done research instead of agreeing to the first treatment offered to Hayden. Take the time to go onto a clubfoot forum and see what other parents have to say. There are many children who have had their feet corrected with the Ponseti Method, some later than right at birth and with success. Seeing your child walk with pain-free, fully corrected, beautiful feet is the best testimony one could have. Giving your child the opportunity to do whatever they want, right from the beginning, is the best gift you could ever give them as a parent outside of life. - The End. I want to say what a common story this is, and that is why I felt it was remarkable to give it special space on my website. This story has played out thousands of times across the globe - a parent just using whatever doctor is placed before them. I did it, too, when Brian was born. Hayden's and Brian's stories are very much alike right up to that point when Hayden's mom discovered the Ponseti Method early enough to use. The pain, the crying, having to physically restrain the child - all these are huge flashing red light symtoms that SOMETHING IS WRONG! Listen to your baby. Clubfoot treatment should not be painful. Sadly for my own son, I did not. Take your time in picking a appropriate clubfoot doctor, one who knows the Ponseti Method of treatment. |
| This is Hayden's Clubfoot Story This lucky little boy narrowly escaped a life of horror after he began clubfoot treatment with the all-too-common traditional method of treatment that is so barbaric it requires a baby to be physically restrained for casting by his own momma. Fortunately for him, his mother found out about the gentle alternative known as the Ponseti Method just in the nick of time. |
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