Information on ClubFeet in Black and White

Kristin Steffen's Story

My son, Kolby was born March 9, 2006. He was born with bilateral club foot which was not seen on the ultra sound. A week after he was born, we went to see an orthopedic doctor at Yale New Haven Hospital. They applied the first cast up to his knees. We had asked a resident if he would take his son or daughter to this hospital for treatment and he said no. We went ahead with the appointment and applied the casts.

We were skeptical because everything we read on the internet talked about the Ponsetti method and full casts. When we got home, we did more research and found Dr. Thomson at Connecticut Childrens Hospital. We made an appointment with him the following week.

Kolby had a total of 6 casts and then had his achilles tendons cut and wore the final casts for 3 weeks. He is now wearing the Dennis Browne Splint 23 hours a day and doing lovely. He is a happy baby and knows life with heavy things on his legs and feet.

He has not learned to kick the shoes off but since he will wear them until he is 4, at night, we expect some trouble along the way. We are so thankful to God that we found a different doctor to treat him and use the Ponsetti method. His feet look beautiful to me but I might be a little biased!

Thank you for the work you have done on this site. It is an encouragement to me as a mom to read other peoples thoughts and stories.

Comments

Comment added by : lena on the 16 May 2007 at 11:14am
my son was born with club feet when he got to the shoe stage i put him to bed in his shoes and then put him in a baby sleeping bag (grow bag)he kept his shoes on that way
Comment added by : Diane MacLean on the 17 Mar 2007 at 18:24pm
Our son Cameron has just turned 4 & finished his treatment. We also used the Ponsetti method which I would recommend to anyone. Dont get me wrong at times we did struggle with the Dennis Browne Splints but every night we just waited untill he was in a deep sleep before we put the boots on. Unfortunately after about the age of 2 he did kick his boots off several times at night but we just waited untill he fell asleep again & put them back on, perseverance is the key. I remember thinking 4 years, on my God, but they have just passed so quickly & you dont even think about it. It was just a normal part of your life & bedtime routine. I look at my son now & I am so glad we peservered as you would never know he was born with club feet. Keep positive & focused its worth it in the end.
Comment added by : Rick Roell on the 22 Feb 2007 at 16:22pm
We have a set of twins born 9/29/06 a boy and a girl. Our son was born with club feet. He had the casts, surgery and now is wearing the braces. He is kicking them off more and more. I was wondering if you had any suggestions with keeping his shoes on.


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