Trying Something New

Matthew had physio today. I told Steve that I was sure that Matthew's talus was protruding again. I even brought the pictures from last year to compare. He agreed, it had to be the talus.

I told him this is the pattern. His foot starts to supinate, the talus comes out, dorsiflexion decreases and it goes down hill from there.

Steve feels his dorsiflexion is still really good right now but after some thought asked if we could try taping to keep his foot pronated and keep his talus in proper position.

So, here we go... taping.

Btw, the green was added by Steve, seeing it is Matthew's favorite color.


This taping stays on for 2-3 days, then we go back in for a change of tape. We are going to try to keep this up until we go to St. Louis in 12 days. See what Dr. Dobbs thinks about it.

I'm not convinced this is will help, but it can't hurt. And right now, I am game for anything.

Sometimes You Have To Look Back To See Forward

Two years ago (plus a few days) Matthew had his posterior tibial tendon transfer, calcanial osteotomy, medial release, and some botoxing. This time last year, I was devastated after his surgeon decided Matthew needed more surgery. His foot looked terrible.

I started searching for another option and found first a very large clubfoot group (2600 members), second, a small neuromuscular clubfoot group (now 11 members) , and then Dr Dobbs.

This past year we went from thinking Matthew needed more surgery to correcting his foot through proper castings. I was quite upset thinking Matthew will need yet another cast when we go in two weeks, but looking back, I see we have come so far.

Just not far enough yet.

Here are some comparison pictures.

Jan 21/2008 the night before sugery


March 18/2008 after the casts came off


Jan 22/2009 One year post op


May 18/2009 after 7 weeks of casting with Dr Dobbs


Jan 25/2010 two years post op, signs of regression again.


And for his talus bone, I am convinced we are seeing it again. His foot is supinated

his talus pops out. It is not as bad as it was last year, but it is there.

Talus bone last year.


And talus today. Not the best picture (Matthew was not cooperative this morning) but you can see it.


So now you can see what I am seeing. I am convinced a casting will happen. Now, to let Matthew know what is in store. He will not be happy.

And one last shot for Michelle from Xandibby and Co. who was asking about stretches.

I do stretch Matthew in his AFO by pushing his foot upwards when his AFO is on. This is the other stretch that I do. By the way, Matthew was really uncooperative this morning and was hiding beside the couch. Oh well, just need the foot for stretching.

I was told to make sure I use my thumbs on his heel and push it down as I push his foot up. That way his talus is in the proper position for stretching. Also, I try hard not to push the middle of his foot. Before I was told I was causing a mid foot break by doing that. Hope that makes sense.

Paranoia or Trained Eye?

Physio went well for Matthew yesterday. His regular p/t is out of town so he saw a new p/t. She was pleased with his foot. Said before the session he was at 5 degrees and after was at 12-13 degrees. That is great to hear.

She worked on his active dorisflexion. Also great to hear that we have moved on from just stretching him to the active side of it.

She said he worked hard and was a wonderful little boy. Again. Fantastic to hear.

So why am I feeling uneasy? I hope it is just a simple case of paranoia, but I am worried that it is my eye that has become trained to look for changes.

I know it is subtle, but tell me, what do you see?

Do You See What I See?

I finally got the video running on my camera and then got Matthew to agree to walk for the video. The result is rather crappy as he didn't want to do it (we had just come home from p/t) and the quality seems poor when I uploaded to You Tube. Am going to see if it is any better on here.

So, I ask the question. Do you see what I see? When he walks back towards the camera, even in his AFO he takes a few steps on the outside of his foot with his toes inward. He was conscience of the video and was trying not to. Clubfoot mommies... honest opinions please. Regression?



I am sending an email to Dr. Dobbs anyways. Just see what he thinks. If there is any other p/t we can be or should be doing.

Btw, his p/t said we are achieving 10-12 degrees dorsiflexion with knee bent, 5-7 degrees dorsiflexion with straight knee. We are gaining grounds there.

And, another video because I absolutely can not resist sharing this one!

Doesn't this just make you go AWWWWWWWW and toss in a worm or some regurgitated bugs?

I Need A New Camera

Sadly, my old camera has been laid to rest. There is no hope in fixing it. If you didn't read my last post, it caught on fire a few days ago while I was using it. Inside the battery compartment there is evidence of the damage. Also, one of the rechargeable batteries also has the tell tale signs of the fire. We tried new batteries with no luck. The camera has shorted out/fried/burnt use whatever term you wish. Not sure if the battery shorted the camera, or the camera shorted and burnt the battery. The proverbial which came first discussion, but really, it doesn't matter. The outcome is still the same, I need a new camera.

And I need it now.

Why the urgency? I would love to say because I need to capture every moment of my boys for prosperity, but no. I have some potentially bad news.

I first saw it Tuesday. Then again Wednesday. I mentioned it to Matthew's p/t Wednesday afternoon. She didn't catch it at first but after I pointed it out she saw it too.

Matthew's left foot is in toeing when he walks. Not when he runs. At least not yet. But it is there when he walks. And his active dorsiflexion is no longer straight up. It pulls slightly to the side, again.

His p/t was unsure if his foot is turning, or his leg is turning in. I said, true, but does that really matter? Even if it is just his leg, it will stretch the outside of his foot and tighten the inside. Opposite of what we want. She agreed.

She suggested a twister type device to wear with his brace that wraps around the leg and pulls the foot outwards for daytime and night time. I just said no. Not yet. Poor kid, my heart breaks at the thought of him wearing more stuff on his foot/leg this summer.

I thought about getting a night time stretcher, but not sure if that would hold his foot from turning in or just keep the dorsiflexion, which by the way we are maintaining AND increasing weekly.

So, I need a camera. I need to take photos and video and send it to Dr. Dobbs. Get his professional opinion.

So off I go this afternoon to buy a camera. No searching around for the right one, the fun one, the one that has the funky bells and whistles, I just need one. Now.