Chris's Story
i have club feetI cannot believe it has taken me this long to discover this website! It was a relief to read the stories of people who have the same issues that I have dealt with - thinking I was a freak.
I'm 41 and have a left club foot. My father had bilateral club feet, but my brother had normal feet. Just like like many of you, the biggest pain has been buying shoes. I have a size 12 and a 9. Since adulthood I have tried to find people through one-shoe clubs and shoe companies and have had very little luck. Three years ago I discovered Nordstrom's department store. The founder had a daughter with Polio and he vowed to provide odd shoes to people who need them. I purchase two pairs and return the odd pair. They credit me for the shipping and the odd pair. God Bless Nordstroms!
Nine years ago, my twin boys were born. They have bi-lateral club feet. They have gone through Shriner's and have had great treatment. It kills me when they come home and wonder why they can't run as fast as other children... I tell them it's my fault.
As they grow older, we laugh when we go out together that BETWEEN THE THREE OF US, WE ONLY HAVE ONE NORMAL FOOT.
I have been blessed throughout my life. I have been an athlete. Football in high school. I play tennis and have won several tournaments in my life - not as many now that I am in my 40s. Running distance has always been a problem. Many of you know that the lack of flexibility makes it almost impossible to "roll" your foot while running.
I fear that my kids will have children with club feet, making the 7th generation in a row! But, all in all, despite the pain when I wake up and try to walk - life has been pretty good even with a club foot. I'm just happy to know that there are so many others out there willing to share their stories. I'll put this page on my favorites and keep up with what is going on in the world of club feet!
Added on 11 Dec 2010
Comments
All times are in GMT +01:00Comment added by April on the Tue 11 October 2011 a 05:32am
The Shriner's are wonderful, they did my daughter's surgery. She wore cast from a newborn till about 10 mths old. She got a break from them for a couple of mths, then had surgery on each foot, wore cast a little bit longer, and all was corrected. She has a little scarring, and no ankles on the inside part of her feet, but it doesn't bother her. She is now 12 1/2 yrs old and has been completely fine ever since. She still has some scarring and can run and play without problems, she may not can run as fast as others but she is just as normal as everybody else.
Comment added by Angie on the Fri 12 August 2011 a 04:44am
YAHOO for Shriner's, Mary Bridge and Children's in Seattle both told me there was nothing else that could be done for my son, my last ditch effort was Shriner's, Dr. Sussman performed a tendon transfer and his stability has improved 100%.
There was no history in our family so I guess we get to kick it off.
Glad to see you all have a sense of humor about it, I hope my son does as well, he is five and at this point all he knows is he has a funky foot.
Comment added by James on the Sun 9 January 2011 a 03:46am
Hi i have a left club foot and i'm 16. it's really odd that you had 6 consecutive generations with one or more club foot/feet because as far as i know club foot is not hereditary and considering this fact the probability of this happening will be somewhere around 0.0000001%. impossible!!!