stephanie's Story

my son was born with both of his feet clubed. He was casted at 5 days old and worn the shoes for a year and then when he was a year old he had surgerie. He is now 6 years old and plays football. Lat year when he played he would trip over his own feet, but this year he has master the skill of running and is doing great. none can even tell that one foot is just a little bigger then the other, and his feet are a little smaller then those of his age. But you will not hear him complain.

Hello Stepahnie, I am 52 years old and a female. My left foot is clubbed. Mine was so sever that my parents were told that I would never walk without a brace. That brace went all the way to my waste. I wore it until I was 5 years old. From the age of 9 months until the age of 10, I had five surgeries. What I deal with as an adult: Thank God the doctors were wrong about me not being able to walk without a brace. I can also run, jump, skate, ride a bike, etc.. I also thank God that the doctors were there to do the surgeries. Because the little movement that I do have in my ankle, would not be there. Yes, that whole leg and foot are still smaller then my right. My leg is almost 1 inch shorter, so I have a lift put on the left shoe. I have to buy two pairs of shoes to get one pair, or have them speacial made. That cost to much. My normal foot takes a size 4 and my clubbed foot takes a size 2. My foot and leg gets tired faster then the normal one. I have always had pain from one degree to another, and still do to this day. This is do to the tendons, with how they are so tight and always needing to be streached. My foot still turn in somewhat when I am barefoot. Just remember that each case is different. Your son's out come may be better then mine. Please, Please find a very good doctor. Do everything he or she tells you, and when your son gets older and begs you to stop treatment; DO NOT. I'm so glad my parents didn't listen to my begging, because my out come would not have been as good as it is. The doctor that I see now from time to time; has said he is surprised at how stairght my foot is. Also remember that medical progress has come along way in 52 years. Best of luck and prayers to you, your son and family.

hi my name is joanne and my three year old daughter was born with quite severe left clubfoot,she went through all the casting and two tenotomys, and wears a brace with boot attatched for bed as she couldnt tolerate boots and brace,about 9 months ago she had a relapse and 1 week ago she had a anterior tibial tendon transferand is now in a full leg cast for 6 weeks which is very frustating for a very active three year old. iam hoping this operation has done the trick as she was finding walking even short distances very difficult and would complain of pain alot,has anyones elses child had this operation and did it help? my docter said prior to the operation he cant gurantee it would work,what happens next if it doesnt? i would really like to know

Hey I am 17 years old and I was born with Bilateral Club feet. I am able to do almost anything any other person could do except this one thing that bugs me the most. I cannot put too much stress on my feet or i have difficulty walking for the next 2 days. Then everything is normal again. I am 5 feet 11 inches tall, i wear a size 12 in men's shoes. I am on a swim team, I go with my friends everywhere. I can sprint normally with no pain at all, I can run the mile with no problem. The only thing is I can't walk for like 5-8 miles without some soreness, which isn't that big of a deal. But I recently got a job walking on the beach pushing a cart 12-14 miles which is way over my limit and now I have not been able to walk for the last day. But tomorrow I will be fine this happens occasionally when I go over my limit. But I just told you all that to show you that your kid will be normal except he has a limit in walking distance. The only way you could tell I have bilateral club feet is the scars. =)

Hey I am 17 years old and I was born with Bilateral Club feet. I am able to do almost anything any other person could do except this one thing that bugs me the most. I cannot put too much stress on my feet or i have difficulty walking for the next 2 days. Then everything is normal again. I am 5 feet 11 inches tall, i wear a size 12 in men's shoes. I am on a swim team, I go with my friends everywhere. I can sprint normally with no pain at all, I can run the mile with no problem. The only thing is I can't walk for like 5-8 miles without some soreness, which isn't that big of a deal. But I recently got a job walking on the beach pushing a cart 12-14 miles which is way over my limit and now I have not been able to walk for the last day. But tomorrow I will be fine this happens occasionally when I go over my limit. But I just told you all that to show you that your kid will be normal except he has a limit in walking distance. The only way you could tell I have bilateral club feet is the scars. =)

My son is now 14 and a Second Degree Black Belt. So tell your son to hold his head up high, and when life hands him oranges just have him make orange juice.

I have a son who is six years old he was casts at 2 weeks old and then had foot surgery at 5 mnths and then again at 2 yrs old his feet are different sizes he gets teased at school because of the way he runs this leads to my son feeling very different from others he is withdrawn and has a low selfasteem it affects him socially as well has anyone got any ideas on how I can get him through this self acceptance.

Hello Stephanie, I am 22 years old and I was born with both club feet, all the worse senerios of club feet. I had five surgies on my feet when I was a kid. I was a very normal kid, I just got teased about my feet alot, but you get over that once your out of high school. My right foot is one size bigger then my left, I wear kid size shoe as an adult, but I got a good selection because of that. Things that your child might have as an adult with club feet is that they might have back problems, they might be shorter then other kids; you can only grow as tall as your feet will support, I'm suppose to be at least five foot 6 inches, but I'm only five foot four inches. He might have troubles with manual labor jobs. I was denied a job at Boeing because of my condidtion. I can't stand on my feet for more then seven hours with out alot of pain. I've been on my feet for four hours today, and its already killing me. I'm not telling you this to scare you, but to inform you, there is a certain way you can massage his feet that will help him develop which will help later in life. I didn't have steady a parental figure to do this for me, and now I'm suffering. Also make him wear doctor made specific foot insoles in his shoes, this will help expand the arch in his feet and give him more balance. When he reaches adult age he would benefit from a foot insole called "good feet" I believe they have an informercial and everything. I hope that this helps you when he become older. I would suggest getting the surgeries, I got them when I was a kid and I wouldn't be able to walk unless I had had them. I wish you the best of luck and do know that your son will make it out just fine. =) Jennifer Jones

hi my son had surgey when he was 8 weeks old. He had the cast on up till then. He wore the boots 24/7 and then 3 months latter he only wore the boots at night. He 14 months now and i can take them off sometimes if he wont sleep with them on. I think the sooner they get surgry the better cause his feet could not be any beeter.They where realy bad when he was born. I dont no about any pains cause he stil a baby but there is lot of people that dont suffer with pains when they get older.

hi,my son was born 8 years ago with a left club foot and had the usual strapping and casts and was operated on at 13 months, its only now that his problems have began,he suffers with terrible back pain due to him walking with a limp and has a leg shorter than the other one and a foot 2 sizes bigger than the other one ,is their anyone else who could give me any information or advice ,would love to hear from anyone,thanks claire

Hi Stepahnie, my name is Diane & our son when through the same treatment & sounds very similar. His cast kept falling off his left foot nearly every week, sometimes 2 to 3 times every week. The consultant contimplated surgery on his left foot but we said no, just peservere untill it corrects itself, which it did. At this moment he suffers no pain at all. He is now 4 years old attending school & we are so proud of the way is feet have turned out. He attends Yorkhill on a yearly basis & they are delighted with his progress. He is a normal 4 year old boy running about the play ground with his friends & you would never know he ever had a problem with is feet. Stick in there is is well worth it.