Casting call in St. Louis!

We left for St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday afternoon (late of course) and made it as far as Knoxville before we had to stop for dinner and bed. Sunday found us "On the road again"! We made it into St. Louis... and back out, as our hotel was on the other side, by 10PM central time. Thank goodness for Paul's Marriott and Hilton rewards from business travel. We have not paid for a room yet!

We were up-and-at-um bright and early this morning so we could have Claire at Shriner's Hospital by 7:30 this morning. The hospital is no where near where we were staying but the traffic was not bad at all. We checked in, got weighted and measured and sent on our way to x-ray and patient photography. They x-rayed her feet and then they took pictures of them. Claire cried the minute they took her shoes off so we had to hide them for the rest of the morning. If see doesn't see them then she is fine not having them on!

This is the last time you will see me walk like this!

After the nurse saw us, then a physician's assistant did a once over and a Dr. from Thailand that is doing a fellowship did an exam. By that time, Claire was perfectly used to people looking at her feet and was happy to show them off! Finally, Dr. Dobbs came in. He informed us that, while Claire's right foot is club, or talipes equinovarus, her left foot is actually the opposite of club. Her left foot is what is called vertical talus. This is a little more unusual and many doctors are not experienced in treating this. But, guess who has treated numerous cases of vertical talus and has developed a technique for using the non-surgical Ponseti method to correct it! Yes, Dr. Dobbs! I knew we were in the right place!

See my foot!

The treatment of vertical talus traditionally consisted of manipulation and application of casts followed by extensive soft-tissue releases. However, this treatment is often followed by severe stiffness of the foot and other complications. Dr. Dobbs will use the principles of the Ponseti Method for long leg casting, followed by pinning of the talonavicular joint and a tenotomy of the Achilles tendon with her last of about 5 casts staying on for 6 to 8 weeks. Claire's other foot will be treated with the Ponseti manipulation and casting method and will take 4 to 5 castings and then an Achilles tenotomy will be performed on it. When all this is over, she will be fitted for a brace that she will wear at night for the next 2-3 years.

After our consult, Dr. Dobbs put her first casts on today! Hot pink of course! She was less than thrilled with the whole process but did much better than the toddler in the next bed that got casted right after us! Dr. Dobbs was everything we hoped and heard he would be! He is very intelligent, patient and so kind!

Dr. Dobbs at work!

When we finished up at Shriner's, we drove downtown and went to the Gateway Arch. It was a lovely day, not hot at all with a nice breeze. Claire had taken a little nap in the car and was good to go so we went under the arch to the museum and then went into the arch and up to the top! Now the kids are enjoying a dip in the pool and Claire is passed out on my bed. I feel bad for her, but in the end she will be so much better off! On the up side of things, she can only have sponge baths for the next few months and since Claire hates the bath tub that will make her day!

Note the hot pink casts!