Her feet were symmetrical (one wasn't worse than the other), and graded 16/20, with 20 being the worst possible. Her hips still looked good.
Since the club feet are symptoms of spina bifida, the doctor explained to us that we aren't curing anything, just treating a symptom. He said she will likely walk around 18 months at the earliest, but probably around 2 or 3 years old.
Her treatment plan is as follows:
(1) A series of full leg castings for 6 weeks, with a new cast each week. This will slowly work her foot around to the correct position.
(2) After the castings are done, they will do a quick out patient surgery to release the achilles tendon. She will then be placed in another cast for 3 weeks.
(3) She will then be put in a brace for 23 hours a day, for 3 months. The brace is a set of shoes with a bar between them, to keep her feet in an outward position.
(4) After the 3 months of brace wearing is done, she will then move to just wearing the brace during naps, and at nighttime, until the age of 2.
There is always the possibility of a more serious surgery if the above treatment does not work.
So, today she got her first set of casts. She did NOT like being held down. It would really have helped if she liked pacifiers, but even with the sweet stuff to dip it in, it didn't help soothe her much. She cried through out most of the casting. Poor baby!
