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The Story of Scott's Feet - continued

Our last visit to the surgeon for Scott's 8 weekly check-ups was in August and this is the first time that Iain wasn't able to come too. It was also the first appointment since Scott had started to walk, and he had now been walking for 8 weeks (he started the day after our last visit!). I had expected the usual from the consultant - a quick feel of the feet, comments that they were still a bit stiff, but continue with the stretching, encourage plenty of walking, and we'll see how they go. However this time, Mr. Clarke, the surgeon, had a look at Scott's feet. We don't always get to see him, and he's a bit scary anyway! So he had the usual feel of the feet, then looked at me and said, "We're going to have to do them again, aren't we?!" I put on a brave face, said yes, I wasn't surprised, and asked a few more questions, put Scott back in the pushchair, left the room, and then burst into tears! Iain was away, and I couldn't speak to him until that evening, so I continued through the day in a bit of a daze.

Anyway, what I learnt is that while Scott's feet aren't getting worse, they are not going to improve enough  by themselves, and surgery is needed to get better feet, which go flat on the floor when he walks. We had been expecting further surgery on the right foot, but Mr. Clarke wants to do both feet, as he believes he can still improve the left too. I find this reassuring as we have heard many times that the objective is to achieve functional feet rather than cosmetically pleasing feet, so we had been prepared to accept the left foot as it is. It is exciting to think that this can be improved too.

We are now on the waiting list for surgery, supposed to be in October last year, but still waiting in February! We will only get about 2 week's notice, so may get a letter any time. Scott will have the same surgery as in October 2001, followed by 3 months of plaster casts. The differences this time are: the feet are starting from a better position; Scott is now a very aware and talkative toddler; Scott is highly mobile and energetic, always on his feet! I am rather daunted by the prospect of Scott in plaster casts for 3 months, and being immobilised. I'm sure he will adapt, but I'm really not sure what to expect. Also, I wonder how I'm going to keep him entertained, occupied and happy over this period! I envisage attending more playgroups, musical activities, etc., but I will have to be guided by Scott and how happy he is. Iain plans to be around a bit more over this period, so we can share the load a bit too.

We can look forwards to Scott coming out of casts before the Summer, and to see him running around, and hopefully coping better without boots on, in bare feet. However, we still realise that this may not be the final surgery. The surgeon says we could still have a similar problem to last time where he can't achieve the correction he wants due to the blood supply getting cut off. Also, feet can start to relapse during growth spurts over the years. So, we just thank our lucky stars for a beautiful, bright, active little boy, and the rest we'll deal with as it happens.

Click here for an update, July 2003, after revision surgery


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