Information on ClubFeet in Black and White

lindsay's Story

hi there,
my name is lindsay and i was born with bilateral club feet. i am 22 years old. my story is some what sketchy as my parents have just given me brief descriptions of the surgeries i have had when i was a child.

I was 3 months old when i had my first surgery and had a few after that. I didnt walk until i was about 3. After every surgery i had to learn over and over. And i remember my parents saying i would never walk, well thats what the doctors told them.

The doctors wanted to amputate my legs telling there wasnt much hope. My parents decided to leave that decision up to me when i was older. Thank god they let me make that choice. Anywayz, my first memory of my surgeries i have is in kindergarten i had an illozorov (external fixator) and this was use to break my bones and move my fibula down on my left foot.

On my left foot i am also missing my big toe. My next surgery occured in grade 6. This was a difficult one because they broke both ankles and used pins and staples to correct my ankles and then casted me. I was unable to put any weight on either leg. In the summer before grade 10 my mother and father decided to take me out of canada to a shriner's hospital in Erie PA.

There i had another illizorov. this time to lengthen my left leg which was 5cm shorter than the right. This stayed on for 8 months due to the fact i became sick a month after the surgery and almost lost my leg to possible bone infection.

Once this was removed i was casted and needed a knee scope to remover debris from the weight of the fixator pulling on my knee joint. I also have had ganlgions removed from my foot and dead tissue from scars. After all of this i am independant and live on my own. I work full time at a nursing home as a PSW and love what i do.

I still suffer from a lot of pain which most doctors say "just take tylenol". My worst fear is for my future children and how i would deal with the possiblity of them being born with this birth defect. I look at my mother and father and say i am so lucky that i have 2 people in my life that gave me so much that if i ever needed to do the same for my children i hope i give them all my parents were able to give me. and for this i say thanks mom and dad

Comments

Comment added by : josh on the 24 Apr 2007 at 15:49pm
I know how you feel because i have had the same thing as you. Sorry my name is josh. I don't know at what age i started to walk but i do know i have had countless surdrys. It is good to hear that some one else has this. I bet it was hard going though school. I know it was for me. I am now 21 and I have no regrets on any thing i did. I also know that the people at shriners will help me if i have a kid with the same thing as me.


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