I've always been fascinated with blogs about special needs children and their families' lives. So when we found out at the 20 week ultrasound that our baby boy was going to have at least one clubbed foot and maybe two, I wanted to research all I could about it. Although there was quite a bit of information on the internet about clubbed feet, I was surprised that I could find little information about families dealing directly with it. Research is one thing, but personal experience is another. The many questions that ran and still run through my mind: What is the treatment like? Are there special clothes that he needs? Will he need surgery? How long is the treatment process and will he be affected later in life? For that reason, I decided I wanted to document his journey as we go through the ups and downs of correcting his clubbed foot or feet, and others can learn from our experience who are going through the same thing.
Clubbed feet can be genetically related. My uncle, was born with a clubbed foot over 50 years ago. The treatment was rather extensive at first, but he has not suffered any complications later in life. Because our baby does not show any other abnormalities, it is most likely an isolated birth defect (meaning not related to any other disorders) and genetically related.
As a mother, I am anxious, excited and nervous about what is to come as the next couple of weeks come to a close. What gives me peace is knowing that this condition is totally treatable- the perinatologist told us that if he could pick a birth defect, it would be this one because it is very treatable- and my little boy will live a normal life.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to hear how things go! I remember how hard it was to have a baby with a birth defect. We had no idea London had a cleft palate until the day after she was born so it was quite a shock to us. I've learned so much in the process and so often feel extremely blessed that she had the abnormality she had, rather than something much, much more severe. Of course, we still see doctors and specialists and things, but the more doctors we see, the more blessed I feel that she can live a completely normal life.
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