Update on Gavin

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone!

I haven't posted in a long time, but thought that I would drop with a little

update on our son Gavin (born 04/02 with a severe left clubfoot, treated by Dr.

Alvarez at Vancouver Children's Hospital, BOTOX injection used

rather than tenotomy, all other treatment standard Ponsetti.) Gavin is now 2

years old. He still wears the boot and bar every night, and we expect to

continue this for at least another year. (He won't sleep without it, in any

case -

- it's part of our bedtime routine, and " shoes on " means that sleep comes

next...) We will be headed back to the coast for a check-up again soon, but

there have been no concerns about his foot recently. At his last check-up his

foot was still fully corrected. He still turns in a bit at the hips and the

tibia, but

not severely, and we have been told that he will likely grow out of this.

Gavin is a very active little fellow, constantly on the move, tearing off in all

directions (and hard to keep up with these days!) Often I find myself checking

his clubfoot out of habit, and then I realize that I am looking at the wrong

foot.

There is, and will probably always be, a small size difference (about half a

shoe size) between his two feet, but one has to look closely to see it.

As I mentioned, our lives are busy with other things these days, and the first

year of Gavin's life (with all of the focus on his clubfoot, trips, casts, DBB,

etc.)

is fading quickly into a memory. I watch my little boy now, tearing around the

park with no sign of a physical handicap, and I remember the heartbraking

moments at first when I wondered whether my child would be able to walk or

run. I am incredibly grateful for our doctor, for the support of this group

(which

was amazing!) and for the fact that we live here and now with access to

excellent medical treatment.

All the best to everyone!

Rita and Gavin D.