Keep on Trying

"Markell brace"

Finally snoozing.... look at that hair do!

That's my advice to all parents of clubfoot babies. Wow- it's been hard. Really hard. It sucks and it's no fun. But, persistence pays off.

So, last I reported was that we were going back to Shriner's to see if we could get a different brace. We met with the doctor on Monday and she ordered the "Markell" foot brace which allows him to move his feet independently. They are pioneer-style looking with laced up shoes. I was happy to finally get something that maybe Hudson would tolerate. After two days he did much better but his feet would keep slipping out of the shoes. This was quite irritating because I was told on several occasions that this would probably happen and that they could insert some foam pads to help with that.

Back to Shriner's for the 4th visit (in one week) on Wednesday to get foam inserts. Crossing our fingers as this was our final option, we headed home. After a few days, his feet were still slipping out, but not as much as before. This was rather frustrating because we were basically out of options and I was not about to make the 40 minute drive to Shriner's again.

When I met with the doctor she said, "Don't let this ruin your life." The worst case scenario would be that he not wear any braces and see how his feet look in 6-8 months. However, there is always a chance that we would have to go back to casting again.

Keeping that in mind, I decided I was going to put my big girl undies on and go back to the first set of braces (where he can't move his feet at all). I was going to have him wear the shoes all day and put the bar on every other hour. Kenny also turned the shoes in to 30 degrees (normally set at 50 degrees) and then we would re-adjust as Hudson gets more comfortable with the braces. Yesterday was the first day with my little experiment. It was a good day. He was more tolerable of the braces with the bar and wore them for 5 hours off and on. My goal is 10-12 hours a night. It doesn't matter if he wears the braces at night or day as long as he is wearing them for 10-12 hours. I just find it easier to get sleep at night when he doesn't wear them. We will see how the rest of today goes. He has actually been able to wear them awake and not have a screaming fit. I must say that Hudson is quite a trooper with this whole ordeal.