Madelyn had finished her 8 weeks with the special (reverse flex) shoes, and we were back to the doctor to discuss her progress. While her left foot still hooks inward at times, I have noticed her holding it in the correct position a few times lately. When we saw the pediatrician, she had said Madelyn's foot was doing well. Everyone has told me all along that the goal is to keep the tendons loose. Then when M is ready to start walking and bearing weight, the foot will be ready and will slowly straighten out. So my expectation was that the doctor would tell us that all we do now is wait. I was expecting a positive and celebritory appointment.
The resident came in first and gave a nice report. She said the foot was still hooking but it looked really good. She stated that the doctor may recommend that we discontinue the use of the shoes. At this point, I was feeling so good. I was thinking the last 16 weeks of treatment have paid off and my baby is finally going to be 'cured'! Well, this is not how our appointment went.
The doctor came in and looked at her foot briefly and stated that the foot looks "so bad" because Madelyn has tiba torsion. I felt like I was just punched in the face. I did not expect this nor did I even know what tiba torsion was. It took everything I had not to burst into tears. What do you mean? I was in such shock I hardly could ask a question. Then the doctor told me I had a choice...he said Madelyn really needs time. However, she could wear the shoes with the bar across the middle to prevent anything worsening. He told me kids hate these shoes, and we were destined for some bad nights. I was floored. I told him he was the physician....he needed to tell me what we HAD to do to fix the problem. I didn't want to make the decision!
He decided to write the prescription when I told him our insurance is changing September 1st. I then proceeded to the clinic to get the device. I still didn't know what we were dealing with. I still was in shock. I was having such trouble controlling my emotions that I didn't speak. I didn't ask the questions I needed to.
The person in the clinic decided to get prior insurance approval before giving us the device and we headed home....empty handed, heartbroken. I cried uncontrollably as Madelyn and I made our way to the car. I was scared. I was sad. I was unsure of my baby's prognoisis. I didn't know what we were dealing with. I felt silly crying when I knew other parents were at the Children's Hospital dealing with life threatening conditions, yet it didn't matter. I couldn't help it. Everyone commented about how beautiful and sweet Madelyn was. I wanted my beautiful, sweet, happy baby to have feet that will carry to all the great places she is destine to go!
I called Casey as I thought he might be on his lunch break. When I didn't get him, I called my parents. Distraught as ever. My dad tried to help me, but not having any real information either it was difficult. When I arrived home, I googled tiba torsion and read up as quickly as I could to find out what we were dealing with. I immediately felt so much better. It said that all babies have a degree of tiba torsion and it almost always resolves on it's own....explaining why the doctor stated if we were dealing with just the tiba torsion he'd recommend doing nothing. This is why I suspect he gave me the choice about the shoes with the bar.
I went on to read that many of the world's top sprinters have tiba torsion. I don't care if Madelyn becomes a track star or not, but you better believe I want my baby to walk and run. This made me feel so much better. While I still have a lot of questions for our next appointment and I want to do some consulting with Casey's uncles ( a Chiropracter and an Orthopedic Surgeon), I feel like we have a plan. We are going to try out having Madelyn sleep in the shoes, maybe it won't be as bad as everyone thinks. From there, we'll evaluate what to do next. While I don't want to make her uncomfortable for something that is preventative. I also don't want to have regret that we didn't take action when she was young. We are still waiting to hear back from the clinic. Please pray for Madelyn's tiny feet and for her mommy to be strong! It's so hard to hear something isn't quite right with your baby.
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