Last Serial Cast

Charlotte and I returned to Walter Reed this morning for what we hoped would be her last cast before surgery! We removed her current cast and I nursed her in order to, as Dr. Jex puts it, fill the tank. I had also pumped some milk again and brought a bottle along to give her should she get fussy during the casting. Dr. Jex came in to evaluate and stretch her feet and our hopes were realized when he decided to schedule her for surgery next Wednesday! 

Charlotte's feet after the removal of her fourth cast. 

Her foot is looking great!

Dr. Jex placed her new cast and talked to me about her procedure next week. He explained that they will use a needle to cut the Achilles' tendon in her right foot and place her final Ponseti cast. She will wear that cast for about three weeks to allow the tendon to heal from the surgery. He also discussed with me the risks associated with this type of procedure and the possibility of relapse. While he said it's unlikely, if we slack on brace-wear, relapse is a possibility that I should be aware of. 

Charlotte's last serial cast!

After talking to Dr. Jex and filling out some paperwork, Charlotte and I headed upstairs for a pre-op appointment. It was pretty simple and consisted of meeting with an anesthesiologist and a pediatric nurse to discuss some little details of the procedure. 

I'm excited that she is "ready" to move forward in this journey (progress is always a good thing), but I'm also nervous about the surgery itself. My baby has to be under anesthesia and she can't nurse for 4 hours before the procedure. I'm worried about how she'll handle the "sleepy gas" and also how she'll feel afterward. I know I need to give these fears over to God and He will protect her. She is, after all, His child and He wants nothing but good things for her life. Knowing these things gives me peace in this situation and there really is nothing better than feeling God's peace. 

Just because I can, here is Charlotte's 2-month picture complete with stats!

As always, your prayers are appreciated so much! I'm so blessed to be surrounded (both physically and via the Internet) by such supportive and loving people! God bless you all!

Moving On Up!

Charlotte's treatment is going so well! Praise God for His faithfulness in this process! She had her third cast removed this morning, and aside from some minor skin irritation, her foot is looking great! Dr. Jex even mentioned the likelihood of moving up her surgery! He thinks she will only need one more cast (after the one she had put on today) until her tenotomy. I'm so excited!

Charlotte's foot after the removal of the third cast. 

Her fourth cast: 8/6/13

Right now, the timeline looks as follows: next cast on August 13th, removal of cast and tenotomy surgery on August 21st at which point she'll be placed in her final cast for 3 weeks. Then she'll go into her Mitchell boots & bar for 3 months of 23/7 wear. All of this is still tentative and may be pushed back slightly depending on how the next couple of casts go. 

Thanks, as always, for your continued prayers! 

Third Time's the Charm

Or not. Charlotte cried again today while getting her third cast put on. Fortunately, she did great (again!) for the removal portion of the appointment, but as soon as Dr. Jex started stretching her foot for the new placement, she got upset. She wasn't as upset this week as last, and we didn't have to stop halfway through to nurse. 

This is her foot after the second cast. 

This picture shows how her foot is starting to point more towards the outside of her leg. 

The correction process is going really well as far as I can tell. I can see that her foot is starting to rotate toward the outside and pointing down and out more than up and in. This is very encouraging and Dr. Jex said she may only need 2 or 3 more casts before her tenotomy. I'm so relieved to know that her foot is responding well to the treatments.

Charlotte in her third cast. Her feet are starting to look more alike!

Contrary to the first two weeks, Charlotte has been feeling pretty well today. She had periods of crankiness, and I could tell she was a bit uncomfortable at times, but overall she was fairly pleasant all afternoon/evening. I just kept her close to me (an excuse to use my new homemade woven wrap) and enjoyed her sweet little cuddles!

Using our homemade woven wrap for the first time!

As always, thanks to everyone who has been praying for her and for us through this journey. Your support and love are helping us stay strong and have a positive outlook on the situation that God has put us in. We are truly blessed!

Strangers

It was bound to happen sometime. Actually, it's happened several times since Charlotte got her first cast almost 2 weeks ago: a stranger asking "what happened".  I know they mean well and that they're just curious, but there's always a part of me that gets defensive thinking that they are insinuating that somehow my newborn got hurt.

Sometimes, when I'm feeling particularly witty, I feel like saying, "Oh, she was just playing too hard at the playground" or "She forgot to wear her non-slip shoes at work". But I don't. Instead, I try to inform them about what clubfoot is and explain how treatable it is. I often feel like a broken record, repeating myself to new people all the time. Maybe I should carry a business card full of information about clubfoot...

The truth is, I like it when people ask about her cast. It gives me the opportunity to talk to them about her and about clubfoot. Often times, people have heard of it before but don't really understand what it is. I enjoy explaining it to them and teaching them something new. I hope to help raise awareness of it, not just here in the U.S., but also around the world. It breaks my heart knowing that there are children in other countries who are left immobile because treatment for clubfoot doesn't exist where they live. So, until children everywhere can receive proper (and fairly inexpensive) treatment for this defect, I welcome any and all questions from curious strangers. 

P.S. Check out this website if you're interested in helping fund a project that will focus on clubfoot treatment in other countries. 

Round Two

I took Charlotte back to Bethesda today for her second cast. First, they had to cut off the old one. I was nervous at first, but then the technician explained that (somehow) the blade only cuts when it comes in contact with hard surfaces, so it wouldn't cut her skin. She was such a trooper and didn't cry one bit while the technician was cutting it off. 

Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the rest of the appointment. Charlotte was quite upset the whole time Dr. Jex was stretching her foot and placing her second cast. We even had to stop halfway through so I could nurse her, but that only calmed her down briefly. I felt so bad for her and for the doctor, because I'm sure it was difficult to properly place a cast on a squirmy, crying baby. 

She was even more uncomfortable today than after her first cast. A dose of Tylenol and several nursing sessions later, she's finally down for the night. Hopefully, we can both get some sleep. 

Leg Warmers on a Budget

Leg warmers are such a great accessory for babies with casts! They keep the casts clean and, more importantly, make them look A-dorable!! But those simple little things will run parents anywhere from $10-20 (or more) per pair! I want my princess to look cute rockin' her casts, but I can't afford that! Thankfully, I have a sewing machine and the internet!

I found a great tutorial online that showed how to make leg warmers out of crew cut socks (or knee-length socks for a larger size warmer). Charlotte and I headed out to Target to pick up some socks! We found some great patterns at just $3 a pair!

I made 4 pairs total in about 2 hours time! That's 8 individual warmers and since Charlotte only has one cast, that's enough for 8 days of wear (or less if they get dirty, and let's be honest, she's a baby so they probably will)! And I still have 4 more pairs of socks yet to convert! That means she'll have 16 leg warmers for less than $25! Frugal Momma win!

Easing Her Discomfort

Charlotte was really having a hard time getting comfortable yesterday afternoon. She would rest briefly and then wake up crying in what seemed like pain. We knew she would need some time to adjust to the cast, but it really stinks when your baby is in pain and you feel helpless. 

After dinner, Zach figured out the problem. Her little left foot was rubbing up against the rough, plaster of her cast and it was scraping her. We put a sock on her left foot and a leg warmer over her cast and she fell right to sleep and slept the rest of the evening. She even went to bed without much trouble and slept all night, waking only to nurse a couple of times. 

I'm so grateful that we (might) have figured out what was causing her so much discomfort. Hopefully, we can keep her happy and comfortable while she continues to adjust to this new phase. As always, thanks for your prayers for our precious princess!