Sarah's Story
i have club feetI was born with clubfeet. My mother said that my footprints were the opposite of a normal baby's footprints. In addition, my right foot was curled in on itself. I got surgery when I was ten months old, in which they basically cut both feet open and filled them full of pins. The doctor told my parents that this would help a lot, but that I would almost certainly need another surgery at some point when I was older. I had casts up to my knees after the surgery, and people looked at my parents like they were monsters.
My parents took me hiking and camping all the time because the doctor had told them they should...it would keep me moving. Plus, he thought that it would be degenerative, as I have ankle problems as well. It's still always been hard for me to run, walk, or stand for long periods of time. Still, one time, I managed to hike 7 miles.
I went to a podiatrist when I was 15, and he ended up putting me in ankle braces. He also wanted to do a surgery on me where he put screws through my ankles, but me and my parents disagreed, as the chances of it succeeding had gone way down the older I got. He then told me that my choices were bone fusion or living with it. I lived with it.
Finally, at age 22, I realized (with the help of a friend) that my ankle braces were hindering me a lot more than they were helping me. So I haven't worn them in months and I actually feel a lot better. I can also walk and stand more than I could before.
I had gone back to the same podiatrist because I wanted to see if anything else could be done now. He ended up doing MRI scans of my feet that showed my talus bones were fused inappropriately...and that pretty much all the bones in each foot are fused incorrectly to each other. As far as I can tell, I need reconstructive surgery. I also have a problem where one leg is shorter than the other, so this tilts me to one side.
So far, nothing else has been done, and I can still walk, but I can tell that the day where I need to use a wheelchair is not far off. But that doesn't mean I can't still do things!
Added on 14 Jul 2010
Comments
All times are in GMT +00:00Comment added by Sarah on the Tue 11 January 2011 a 03:33am
Hmm. He SAID that they were all fused incorrectly, but that could just be that he didn't explain it properly himself. Misaligned sounds more appropriate to me now that you said it. I know for sure he showed me my talus bones and said that they were why my ankles look so weird.
I tried looking up lifts before, but had no idea what I should get...and the nearest "expert" is in Oregon. =/ So I'm not sure what to do. I do have a lot of hip and back pain already, I have since I was a kid.
Comment added by Notumbo on the Mon 2 August 2010 a 01:05pm
Sarah,
First, I strongly urge you to get a second opinion, from another podiatric or orthopedic specialist. Something sounds fishy if the doctor is telling you that "all the bones in your feet are fused incorrectly." First, unless a surgery that was performed to actually fuse all those bones, the likelihood they would in fact be spontaneously fused is extraordinarily remote. So unless you mis-heard the doctor, I think you may be making a decision on incorrect information. If, on the other hand, the doctor had said the joints were "misaligned," that's another thing altogether.
As someone who has lived 57 years with post-club feet, and who worked in the field of biomechanics for more than 20 years, I can tell you there are various alternatives tha you should explore seriously BEFORE you fall into the belief you will need to live the rest of your life in a wheelchair.
Second, as to your leg length inequality - please have it professionally evaluated. You can very effectively compensate a leg length difference with the proper size and designed shoe lift. If it is a relatively minor amount of difference, you could actually wear a small lift inside your shoes, and no one would know except you. But whatever way you need to go, I strongtly urge you to start as soon as you are able. You are still quite young, and your body has not had to do too much compensation for the difference as yet. But as you get older, that compensation will increase, and there is a likelihood you could face other biomechanical issues - knees, hips, spine may compensate in ways that cause further pain and disability. So please look after that part of the problem you are dealing with soon.
And good luck.
Notumbo
www.adultclubfeet.blogspot.com