Guest guest Posted April 7, 2003 Report Share Posted April 7, 2003 Kori, your moms reaction to your internet research is the same that I got from my DH - he basically said the same thing about me going in a talking to Owen's doctor. He didn't want me telling the doctor 'how to do his job' or insinuating that I knew more about clubfoot or 'this Ponseti method' than the doctor did based on what I learned from the internet. I was so frustrated with him (dh)! Anyway, thanks for the compliments on his name - it took us forever to pick a name (read: agree) and we finally did a few minutes before his birth! LOL! > Is it terribly difficult to take the shoe off for diaper changes? I will > have to see the reality of being mom of three and how that goes but can you > manage diaper changes by taking one shoe out of the brace? We're not quite at that point yet. Owen is still in his last cast. To be quite honest, I'd much rather not have to remove his shoes for a diaper change. My 21 month old daughter is at an age where she's into everything and the extra time it would take to remove Owen's shoe and then put it back on could spell disaster where she is concerned. I spent the better part of yesterday morning scouring crayon and pen ink off of the walls of our freshly painted kitchen and living room - my 6 year old had missed a few 'strays' underneath the dining room table! The 'damage' was done in about 45 seconds! > I do have one question though, did his foot go back at all before the next casting or not? I would love to have time to > kiss her little baby feet for a little while before getting another > cast. Of course I won't know till I try it one way or the other for > myself, I do know this. Yes, his foot did appear to go back a little between castings but never to the original position of the previous casting. The last cast (6th) before the tenotomy made the most dramatic difference in the appearance of his foot as it was overcorrected to an outward position. I removed his cast the night prior to our appointment to bathe him and when I took him for his appointment the following morning, the relaxed foot appeared to be in a neutral (normal) position. His doctor was pleased with it and performed the tenotomy and then applied his last cast which he'll be in for a little over 4 weeks. Daiga and Owen (02/04/03) Unilateral (left) CF Dartmouth, NS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2003 Report Share Posted April 7, 2003 Kori, Don't feel guilty or out of line in questioning your doctor. The one thing that I have learned from this whole clubfoot ordeal is not to blindly trust any doctor despite their " reputation " . You need to be self-educated so that you can make your own informed decisions. Yes, there is a lot of " bunk " on the internet, but as you stated, there are a lot of good people sharing their own personal experiences for the direct benefit of others as well. My daughter went to a pediatric specialist who was renown for his clubfoot work and training in Scotland.......he point blank told me " don't believe everything you read on the Internet " when I asked him about the Ponseti method. He was all set to cut my daughter's foot open and reconstruct it. Luckily, I went with my gut instinct and believed the posts of the parents on the internet instead of listening to him. My daughter has been out of the brace for quite a while due to being diagnosed with loose ligaments by Dr. P when she was 10 months old. She was at greater risk of damaging her good foot by staying in the brace compared to the risk of relapse, so Dr. P decided to have her stop wearing it. We went quite often for check-ups due to her being out of the brace in order to catch a relapse early. Luckily, we've been fine so far. We are dealing with lack of dorsiflexion (short Achilles), but it shouldn't cause any problems, and Dr. P isn't sure that it's directly related to the non-use of the brace. At any rate- continue to ask questions- and we'll support you the best that we can. Darbi will definitely thank you one day...and if her foot never gives her any problems, and she doesn't know the possible issues that " could have been " and therefore never thinks to thank you...that will be the biggest " thank you " of all! =) & (3-16-00) > >Welcome, Kori! So glad you've found this and the other clubfoot > >boards for support. When I had my little girl, 3 years ago, they > >also told us that her foot was " positional " initially. > > This kind of irritated my dh because he was sure from the beginning it > wasn't normal. He is still somewhat irritated because he feels that > treatment should have started earlier than it did (day 5). But... I take > some of the blame since being told this so many times by the peds who came > to see her daily when *our* ped stopped in to my room to see her (he's > faculty and has taken a promotion, very hard to get to and only works in > the clinic one morning a week. we are lucky to see him at all anymore) I > didn't want to bother him with another stupid question about her foot. But > I'm sure he would have had us seen by the ortho sooner if I'd pointed it > out to him at that time. Boy won't he be surprised what's going on with > her tomorrow when we go in to see him for her well baby checkup and weigh in! > > > As I > >said before, she's 3 now, and her foot is perfect. > > did she wear the DBB or AFO still? And how long did she wear it for? > > So much correction > >can be lost in those few hours spent out of the cast! > > lol, like I remarked to , I've decided not to do that. Especially > since this time her appointment isn't till the afternoon. I may not remove > it at all if I'm feeling cocky... her umbilical stump still hasn't fallen > off so she can't have a bath anyway. It's not like she's dirty hehe! > > Thank you for your response . I really appreciate it. My mom has > been giving me greif about my research into this. She asks me tonight if I > find out that this Dr. isn't doing things *the way I like* if I'm going to > tell him how to do his job or take her to another Dr. Basically telling me > that I should trust blindly and that the information I receive online can't > possibly be true. Unfortunately I've been online for a long time now and > have great faith in mom/parent email lists like these and trust the > experiences of other parents a lot more than one Dr. anywhere. So I'll do > as I please. Today dh remarked after I told him I emailed Dr. Ponseti > directly (and sent pics, i noticed they didn't show up on the lists) that > he was sure Darbi will appreciate all the research I'm putting into > this. THAT really made me feel good about doing this and quite honestly, > what he thinks matters more than my mom anyway right? I do feel strange > questioning this Dr. I know he means well and it's quite possible that > we're going to be fine staying with him. He's overbooking us to do the > casting and seems very caring. I'd be really happy just to stay with him > and have it all turn out perfectly. > > > > Kori > Mamma of > Kenton 6/18/98 > Merek (Maki) 3/5/00 > Darbi Ruth 3/28/03 > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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