James' Foot Update

**James is getting his first leg cast or "boot" as we call it on June 25**

Went to Childrens today for James' appointment with Dr. Zimbler, the ortho who sees Eric for his clubfoot. James has clubfoot too but not as severe. It is called metatarsus adductus, defined as:

Metatarsus adductus is a foot deformity. The bones in the middle of the foot bend in toward the body. This is exactly what we saw on the xray,

Eric has true clubfoot or "talipes equinovarus" which is defined as:

The common ("classic") form of clubfoot. Talipes is made up of the Latin talus (ankle) + pes (foot). Equino- indicates the heel is elevated (like a horse's) and -varus indicates it is turned inward. With this type of clubfoot, the foot is turned in sharply and the person seems to be walking on their ankle. Eric's achilles tendon was actually too short and needed to be stretched.

While Eric had surgery, corrective shoes with a bar and casts for 5 months, James outlook is 1-2 months of casting and no surgery. James also has Torticollis, where one side of neck has weaker muscles, causing his head to slouch toward side which could develop a flat spot. Eric had this too, all we need to do is position him correctly and physical therapy.

Eric's doctor called him a "poster child for Children's hospital orthopedics" so hopefully James will be too.

All of these problems are attributed to "position in the womb" so I guess as a mother, it's one more thing for me to feel guilty about :)

Today James weighed 12 lb. 6 oz.