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Quintin was born in September 2000.
We learned the diagnostics at the
birth and it was left ideopathic clubfoot. As I taped the US on video,
I can say that the
clubfoot was clearly present at 26 weeks, but the US technician failed
to see it and diagnose it. Nobody in our family had clubfoot before
Quinn, but there was a family history of severe intoeing and three
family members wore the DBB for correction.
I was convinced that something was wrong with the baby while I was
pregnant. The ultrasound
showed nothing unusual, and this perplexed me. I just had a feeling. When the
baby was born and we saw his foot, I said "He has clubfoot! So, that's what was wrong".
My husband is a physician assistant, so he took it all in stride.
Our family was extremely supportive, helpful and full of love for
Quintin. Quinn had some decreases in his heart rate during the birth,
so we were all just so glad to have him with us safe and sound.
Psychologically, the harder was that we had to go back and forth to
the city daily for his physical therapy, and this was a 4 hour round
trip drive....just me, a 3year old and a newborn. This started at 9 days after the birth. I had a hard time being gone everyday and not being home to
enjoy his first newborn weeks.
Physiotherapists have been a God
send to us. My son's
clubfoot was a 17 on the Dimeglio 0-20 clubfoot scale, with 20 being
the most severe. We had a 50% chance of correcting his foot with the Physical
Therapy method, and avoiding surgery.
Our amazing PT was diligent and did daily PT for 3 months. We then gave him a Botox
injection to paralyze the muscles that were still tight and causing
some problems, and resumed daily PT for 3 more months. My sons foot, at 9 months of
age, is now a 2 on the Dimeglio scale, and he will not need surgery.
We are completely satisfied of medical people’s work . My son will walk normally
because of their dedication and love. And we avoided it with the
French Physiotherapy Method ! The only constraint was the Denis
Brown brace he wears at night while he sleeps. And Quintin slept
through most of the PT sessions and never experienced any pain from
it.
The first year of treatment is quite good. We did PT straight through
the holidays. We cut back
the number of days each week, and resumed the daily schedule after the
holidays were over. During all of the daily trips, I missed out on
time at home. But, my
husband was a true partner through it all, and he kept up with the
house work and taking care of our 2 older children. Many friends came
to our aid during this time. Several
friends arranged to cook dinner for my family on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays to help us out.
To resume everything, it was a difficult time for us, but we would
have driven to the end of the Earth and back for our son to have the
French Physiotherapy done for his clubfoot. It was certainly well worth
it. His foot is beautiful,
and he stands normally and is beginning to walk with the help of
furniture. The biggest
blessing is that we avoided surgery, and Quinn has many years of
running and jumping ahead of him.
You can email me at : Jody2ms_chez_neopolis.net
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