Amanda Balthis's Story
i have club feetI unfortunately know how it feels to be disappointed and hurt because of clubfeet. I am an eighteen year old female with severe bilateral clubfeet,
My mothers birth-father had one clubfoot. I've been told it's very rare for a female to be born with bilateral clubfeet but I suppose those genes couldn't help it.
Well, Here's my story- I love my job as a Barista at a coffee shop but I'm on my feet for hours on end, It gets hard because I truly enjoy my job and would never want a boring office job,
I know I can't do this for much longer though. I, like many others, have attempted to do many things I was told I "couldnt" or that it would be too difficult to do.
I cannot ice skate due to all the pressure on the ankle, I cannot keep it straight, I can't even walk long distances without sharp pains. I've had fourteen surgeries starting a week after I was born until about 8 years old.
I actually had my first before I even left the hospital. They said I got lucky because I was two months premature and my bones were soft enough to fix some of the damage without surgery.
They cut my achille's tendon so I don't have much movement or support from my feet. A few surgeries later they put pins and two small rods in each of my feet.
The surgeries all went well and until now it hasn't been that severe. I am now eighteen and needing more surgeries with no insurance, so you get the point.
All I can say is- Best of luck to everyone and I truly do hope everything works out for the best with any future surgeries or with your foot/feet in general.
Whenever I get medical my next surgery will be to have an arch put back in both of my feet, have them fused, straightened out (I have started walking on the sides again.) and having bone shaved off the top so I could have more normal looking feet.
As the admin said in one post, It could be worse- I know I could have not been so fortunate and I could have no feet to walk on. Once again, best of wishes to everyone.
Added on 27 May 2006