When my wife was 16 weeks pregnant, we went for a 4D scan to check the sex of the baby. It was then that we were told that our baby had clubfeet. Between then and the birth we were given a consultation with a physio at Royal Free Hospital, who explained everything and scheduled it all. Since then there has been no stress and everything has gone as planned.
On the day of birth, I gave them a call and five days later Anthony was put into his first (of six or seven) casts, as planned. He was born in late July and by Christmas his feet were absolutely fine, as planned. In the meantime, he had been given a tenotomy – a quick and easy procedure.
The rest was in our hands.
For 23 hours per day, then 16 hours per day, then 12 hours per day, he wore boots on a bar, as planned. He got used to them and we got used to them, like brushing teeth or putting on clothes. Sometimes it could be a little bit complicated (while travelling through airports and hotels, for example), and sometimes it could be useful (while changing nappies we used a bar to lift his legs and voilà! by one finger!).
By the time he was five he didn’t need the boots and the bar. At school they do not even know that we was born with clubfeet – there’s no need. They knew at his nursery school, when he was 2 or 3, and they were easily trained on how to deal with it. No one complained.
Today Anthony’s 6.
He is a great swimmer and he has just got his first proper BMX. He may hate playing football, but daddy here’s to blame. There’s no limit to his ability to run, jump, dive, snorkel, and there are no worries for us.
