Foot Deformities

    • Anonymous
      January 18, 2007 at 4:29 pm

      During Nate’s early stages of GBS, his right foot started turning under and kept going until it got about as far as it could.
      His drs didn’t do too much except put a fur lined boot on him at night which did not help.
      Anytime he tries to walk, his ankle rolls under very badly, making it very hard to walk.
      I got him a couple of different braces on my own since the hospital he was in didn’t seem to have any better ideas.
      It is not getting better so I took Nate to a really nice and very concerned Orthopedic Dr Tuesday to check it out.
      He took x rays and examined Nate’s ankle for quite awhile.
      He says the drs should have taken care of that problem early on, but like so many things that were not addressed, that was one.
      He says Nate has a severe Equinovarus Deformity. It is also known as Club Foot in infants.
      I have done a lot of research since we saw the dr. and from what I found, AFO or surgery is usually the only thing that can be done. His dr already said he does not want Nate to have any surgery. We don’t either.
      Hopefully the AFO will help him.
      Do any of you have that from GBS?

    • Anonymous
      January 19, 2007 at 1:02 pm

      I do not have club foot, but this past fall I noticed that 3 toes on my right foot are slightly contracting. I made the discovery because my sock would “bunch up” underneath and make my foot hurt. I am trying to be more aware and consciously relax the toes but there are other daily living things to be done :p Your orthopedic doc sounds knowledgeable, so hopefully he’ll have some answers for Nate. Good luck!

    • January 22, 2007 at 4:22 pm

      I got hammer toes after my first bout with GBS and had surgery on them. I have always had trouble with my feet but not as bad as a club foot.

    • Anonymous
      January 23, 2007 at 12:21 am

      We went to the Orthotics and Prosthetic place today for Nate’s evaluation.
      The person who saw us told us that not only does Nate have Equinovarus Deformity but he also has a Pidgeon Toe and his heel does not hit the ground, and his toes drop. I had no idea it was that bad.
      He explained that not just the tendons on the inside of his leg have shrunk but his calf muscles and his achilled tendons too.
      He told us Nate will need rather extensive PT and quite an intricate brace for his foot and ankle if he is ever going to walk ok.
      Before they can make a brace, they will need to manipulate his foot into a position very hard to get into, to cast it. That is going to hurt. Just having them try to straighten his foot hurts like heck.
      The brace will have ankle hinges to keep his toes up and his heel down as well as his arch and keep his foot pointed straight.
      I have no idea how they can do all that but they are willing to try.
      They said it will fit into his shoes too.
      They also showed Nate how to get his heel down by pulling his foot back some and pushing his knee down when he’s sitting in his wheelchair.
      They want him to do that as much as possible to try to stretch his calf muscles while they’re waiting for insurance authorization.
      I guess time will tell if it will work.

    • Anonymous
      January 23, 2007 at 11:27 pm

      Good luck with everything Trudy, please tell Nate to hang in there.

      Jerimy

    • Anonymous
      January 24, 2007 at 12:40 am

      Hi Nate’s mom. You are an awsome mom. And you have an awsome son. Keep hanging in there and tell Nate to hang in there to and thinks will get better, because you’re doing what it takes to make them better, and God sees that and he’s on your side. I am so proud of both of you. BIG HAPPINESS TO U & NATE.