IWK - Where Dr. Know what their doing!

So August 26th was our first appointment at the IWK. We drove to Halifax the night before and stayed in a very nice Hotel for the night, as our appointment was in the early morning, and it is a 4 hour drive to get there. We were nervous, wondering if the surgery would be done that day or not. . . When we got in to see them we got bad news yet again. Due to the Dr at home not knowing how to correctly treat club foot as he claimed that he did, we had lost all correction in her feet. . . you can see in the photo how crooked there were after only a week. . .

Then came the words I didn't expect at all "so it looks like we are starting at square one. . " Said Dr. Logan (our AMAZING Orthopedic Surgeon at IWK). Dr. Logan was upset at all Lilybear had gone through, and then to have to start all over again. The RN assigned to Lilybear, Jennifer, was also amazing! They really treat you like a person at IWK! They understand when you get upsetting news that you will be upset, and NEVER treat you like you're wasting their time! So they set us all up with a new set of casts, and an accelerated casting appointments to try and catch us up on lost time. We were to drive to and from IWK (4 hours of driving each way), one or two times a week. We will do what we have to do for our Lilybear!

First set of casts Applied using the PONSETI method of treatment!

NOTE TO CLUBFOOT PARENTS: PONSETI IS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT. ASK YOUR DR ABOUT IT, AND IF THEY DON'T FOLLOW IT, ASK FOR SOMEONE THAT DOES!

Done All I can Do. . .

So after 2 months of castings, making one or more trips to the hospital orthopedic clinics every week. . . Our Orthopedic Surgeon final advised that he had done all he could do, and we were referred to the IWK Children's Hospital in Halifax, NS. for surgery. Our "dr" and I use the term loosely, advised us of this after removing the 7th set of Lilybears casts that had been on for 2 weeks this time. . . This is what we found under those casts:

Bruises, broken blood vessels, and feet that were not corrected. . . I cried that day too. Our "dr" advised us that we would just leave the casts off for the week till our appointment at the IWK, and to "stretch" her feet. He very briefly showed us how to stretch them, told us to do it every diaper change, and then promptly left the room very rudely like we had been wasting his time.

RED FLAG FOR PARENTS: IF YOUR DR TRIED TO TELL YOU TO LEAVE THE CASTS OFF FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME AND "STRETCH" THE FEET, SEEK NEW MEDICAL STAFF! See next posting for more info!

Series of Casting Calls

Here are some snap shots of the casts that were done on Lilybear the hospital in our home province, by the Orthopedic surgeon. . . . We made at least one trip to the Hospital with Peanut and Lilybear, and sometimes DH when he wasn't working for 8 weeks. We Loved the casting techs, they were great! Jim and Lori were very nice to us, and spoiled Peanut with Popsicles which she though was fab! Sometimes the wait was short, sometimes longer than 4 hours! Our Orthopedic surgeon was not the friendliest, but we thought we were doing what was best for Lilybear, and THOUGHT he knew what he was doing. Apparently not!!! Please keep reading and you will understand!

CASTING TIP: BABY LEGS, OR LEG WARMERS ARE AMAZING FOR KEEPING CASTS CLEAN! :) just sayin'!