Information on ClubFeet in Black and White

Jocelynn Hemphill's Story

My son, Paden, is 14 years old and was born with severe bilateral club feet that required numerous surgeries and braces between the ages of zero and six. The surgeries were successful, but his feet are very small and abnormal. He also has less than 50% muscle in his legs from his knees down to his feet, and his doctor told us that he would never be able to compete in athletics. Paden has been determined to prove the doctor wrong and plays many sports including baseball, tennis, football, basketball, and even track. Through the years, we have searched and searched for an athletic shoe company that could fit his unusual foot. His foot is extremely small for his age and very wide. The best we've been able to measure him for size is a boys 3.5 with a 4 or 5 E width. The closest fit we've been able to find is a 3.5 XXW from New Balance. This is just a regular tennis shoe that still does not fit his feet very well and is not geared for all types of sports. He has a very high arch and a very thick instep.

He will be in High School next year and will not be allowed to compete without proper footwear. Would you know of a company or source that might be able to make custom athletic shoes for football, track, and etc? I have spent hours searching on line and cannot find any custom athletic shoes for children.


Thank you for your time and help,

Jocelynn Hemphill

Comments

Comment added by : Macy Reeve on the 25 Jan 2008 at 01:29am
I was born with club feet. I am 19 years old. When I was about 14 months old I had surgery on both feet. I was in casts and then specialized shoes. I have played sports my whole life and have tried everything possible to make my feet feel better. I have found that there comes a certain time when it just becomes too much. I have tried inserts, shots, wrapped ankles and none of it has helped. I have iced and heated my feet and they are still giving me a lot of trouble and I am still in a lot of pain. I wish i could say something positive, but from my experiences; there seems to be nothing that has helped me. I am scheduled to have surgery this summer to lengthen my achilles and they also have to shave my ankle bone down. If you would like more information you can e-mail me aat macyreeve@yahoo.com.
Comment added by : kate on the 01 Aug 2007 at 09:08am
I am 18 and have both club feet. I am like your son. I played soccer very competatively for 8 years and after a while by muscle mass became too much for my feet, which gave way. I am now unable to run, but I am a professional cyclist. I am on the search now for custom made cycling shoes, but when doing every other sport I found that having custom footbeds made life alot easier!!
Comment added by : ANNMARIE on the 06 Apr 2007 at 12:46pm
My son is ten and he has very wide feet his shoe size is only like a 1/2 size different but the width of his shoe is like an E width also I know New balance are the only ones who sell extra wide width, my son does well with Jordans for some reason if you find out any info please let me know also
AnnMarie
Comment added by : Debbie on the 19 Mar 2007 at 01:09am
Jocelynn,
My son also has problems with shoes, because of the on clubfoot the foot is of course smaller. 4 sizes difference. It is more of a challenge now that he is 15 because he wares a child shoe and an adult shoe. So we make it a day searching for shoes. It gets harder and harder. I am with you, if you find anything let me know.
Debbie


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