I Wish There Was No Such Thing As Club Foot

I took Hazel to Shriner's Hospital last week for a second opinion. Here is what they had to say:

1. The plastic brace Hazel's in now isn't going to work. If she only wears that, her foot will regress. She needs a bar brace to control how much she can move her foot. :( However, they have one that seems a little better than what Hazel was in before. The bar is lighter, and it's attached with suede straps instead of leather shoes.

2. Her foot is not completely corrected, and she should go through two or three more casts before she moves on to the brace.


Then I went to Primary's (where we've been going) a couple of days later, and the doctor there told me Hazel's foot looked fine.

But after a lot of prodding, she admitted that the plastic brace is not as effective, and Hazel will have to wear it full time for a year, not just three months like with the bar brace. And if down the road it doesn't look like Haz's foot is getting better, then she will need to go back to the casts. But she thinks Hazel's foot looks just fine right now.


While I was at Shriner's, I saw a little boy (one or two years old) with club feet, trying to walk down the hall. He walked on the outsides of his feet, and had to hold his mom's hand to keep his balance. It was really sad. I watched that, and I knew I needed to do everything I can now so that Hazel doesn't have to struggle to walk later.

Thus, I think we're going to switch over to Shriner's. I'm still in the ponder and pray stage, but that's what I'm leaning towards. So frustrating. I really wanted to have them tell me Hazel's foot looked perfect, and she didn't need to wear a brace at all anymore. Dream on, huh?

They were ready to put Hazel in a new cast then and there, but we had to put things on hold while we go to ITALY! The chica grows too fast to stay in one cast for that long. So, we'll keep wearing the plastic brace for now, becaues it's better than nothing, and then get intenseive when we get home in a few weeks. Blah blah.