A Foot Update

Ever since my Allie was born, we have had to deal with foot deformities.  She was 8 months old when she got her first set of casts. We've gone through multiple casts and multiple pairs of corrective shoes to get us to where we are today!

Kevin and I had talked about where we should go from here.  Her left foot is still a bit turned in and we knew things still weren't perfect with either foot so we decided to make another appointment with the orthopedic doctor here in town.  We found out the doctor we had been seeing retired and they referred us to a new doctor in town. We saw him and he wanted us to go to Indy to see the specialist at Riley and get his thoughts.

We went a few weeks ago.  We had a great trip up!  We stopped to see my friend Amy and then had lunch with my sister and my niece.  Allie knew she was going to see a foot doctor and she asked if she would have to get any shots.  She didn't seem to have a worry in the world once we told her no shots, he was just going to look at her feet.

We waited about an hour past our scheduled appointment time to be seen. The orthopedic doctors here in Evansville (that we have seen) are all very nice but very short on their time spent with the patient.  They talk a mile a minute and seem ready to go to the next patient.  This specialist was the opposite.  He came in, shook our hands and talked to Allie for several minutes before even looking at her feet.  He spent about a minute looking at them, had her do some walking and running down the hallways, then finally asked us some questions about how her feet are affecting her.  

He said her feet are not severely turned in, and normally when he does surgery those feet are considered "severe" and hers are more mild and moderate.  He also said as she gets older, they may straighten out a bit more on their own.

He also told us a couple new things too.  She has skewfoot, which I had noticed a problem with her heels but it was never called anything with the doctors we had seen in Evansville. It means her foot and ankle make a Z.  He also said she is slightly flat footed.  He said with the skewfoot being present, it's another reason he would suggest not operating . While the metatarsus adductus (foot turning in) would get better, she'd be left with big scars on each foot and the skew foot would actually worsen.

He finished by saying that the casting and shoe wearing was definitely helpful to her when she was younger. And since there are no problems or limitations with her running or playing or being a normal 5 year old girl, we should leave things the way they are.  We were relieved to hear the good news and felt good knowing we did everything we could have and should have done to correct things.

Before we left, I asked him about shoes.  I didn't know if we should be buying top of the line shoes for her with lots of support.  He told me I'd be surprised by how many problems shoe wearing cause in our country and that being barefoot is actually best for her and she can wear whatever shoes she likes.  Allie heard that and has been wanting to be barefoot ever since.

We are glad this chapter in her life is over and we aren't worried about surgery in the future!

Metatarsus Adductus

Allie was born with metatarsus adductus.  It basically means the top bones in her feet turn in.  When she was 8 months old, we went through a series of casts, then used corrective shoes for a period of time after that.  When she was about a year and a half old, the orthopedic surgeon released her and said come back if I thought things weren't looking right. 

I took this picture a few weeks ago.

Several months ago I realized that her feet were turning back in.  I gave it some time, and Kevin and I decided we needed to at least have her feet rechecked.  In the meantime, I started doing some research on reoccurring metatarsus adductus.  I wasn't thrilled to learn everything I did, but it helped me mentally prepare for today's doctor visit.  (As opposed to her very first ortho visit where I kept telling myself it wasn't that bad and we left in casts and I was in tears!)

Our doctor is wonderful.  He quickly looked at Allie's feet and said he agreed the metatarsus adductus was still present and needed to see if it was a muscle or bone issue.  He ordered x-rays and Allie was such a champ for them.  The doctor explained where he saw the problem and told me it was up to me if I wanted her casted today or if we wanted to try some corrective shoes for a couple months.  The casting doesn't seem like it's a huge deal, but it is much more traumatizing than it sounds.  He has to stretch the feet to their correct position which is very uncomfortable/painful for Allie.  I could definitely do without holding her down and while she screams and cries, BUT I knew I had to put my mommy emotions aside and do what was best for Allie.

I snuck this picture off the computer before the doctor came in.  Underneath those long crooked bones at the top of her feet, there's a bigger grey area.  It's showing the little bones in her feet are very underdeveloped, which results in her feet turning in. 

I asked the doc what he recommended and he said he thought it would be best to try the corrective shoes and see how she does in those for two months (only because her foot was still really flexible - her feet were considered stiff when we had our first visit at 8 months) We will go back in June and see how she has progressed.  He may choose to do a series of casts then (they change the casts every two weeks and do this 2-3 times, so a total of 4-6 weeks) or he may have us use a bar (while she sleeps) that will hold her feet and ankles in an over corrected position.

Her little corrective shoes are actually kind of cute.  She has such skinny little legs and they just look like little regular leather boots (unless you look really close).  It's a cute look with a dress.  Right now she will wear the shoes 24/7, day and night, and can only take them off during bath time.  She has done fantastic with them today.  She asked to take them off a couple times but I told her she has to wear them, and she didn't complain.

We have been trying to stay really upbeat about it.  We went sock shopping for some bright new styles and we keep talking about her "cool new shoes."  I don't want her feeling self conscience about her feet ever.   

Cute new socks

I guess the other news today was that if the corrective shoes don't completely correct the issue, we will have to talk about surgery.  The surgery wouldn't take place for over two years, so we have some time.  Surgery is used as a last resort, but it's completely necessary if the bones in her feet don't grow properly.  Only time will tell!

In the meantime, if you see Allie, feel free to compliment her cool new shoes :)  We feel blessed knowing things could be so much worse than having to wear a pair of shoes (or casts or whatever happens)!