Straight Leg McBad Boob
Not a cowgirl name. It’s a description of our day…
We went to the pediatric orthopedist. He was very optimistic about Tony’s leg. He diagnosed it as “Posteromedial Bowing of the Tibia”…um yeah. It is believed to be caused by the crossing of one leg over the other, cause one to actually form around the other, deforming the bones in one leg. He believes that with stretching exercises, the bones will straighten themselves. If their is not significant straightening before he begins to try to walk, the doctor will begin more aggressive treatment. However, because he will continue growing over the next 2 decades of his life, there is really no reason to get too aggressive until his teen years. He believes the worse case will be that leg being shorter by a few inches than the other. This would need a lengthening in his teens. He might need nothing more than time.
So there’s the straight leg part, on to the McBad Boob. Sarah has an infected milk duct. Doesn’t that seem like a crappy trick of nature? Sure, you can feed your child, and that’s the best method for him, but it’s going to hurt like passing a stone through your nipple and make you freakin sick. She woke up from a nap with a 101 degree temperature, shivering uncontrollably. So we called the OB/GYN and they called in some antibiotic. She’s taken a couple really hot showers and tried the hot compress. She can’t feed Tony though. The pain almost makes her pass out. So she’s been pumping to try to clear the duct up and provide him some milk. I know she feels bad about not being able to feed him directly, but passing out on him would suck.
So, that was a glimpse at a portion of our day. We won’t go into the broken radiator hose on my car, tires being low on the good car, getting new glasses, Jack asking if Santa Claus is real, or my oldest cat beginning to look like she needs medical assistance. Good night America.
Posteromedial Bowing of the Tibia, infected milk duct
December 15th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
[...] Bryan actually researched it, I’ll point you to his site for a great description of what the (fabulous) specialist had to tell us about Tony. Long story [...]
December 16th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Sorry about having to take Tony in to the doctors. That is so hard as parents. It sounds like in “the grand scheme of life” though, it will not be too big a deal. Thank goodness that he is healthy in the most important ways!
Sorry, too, about the mastitis, I have had it, and it sux. Try to get Tony back on the boob as soon as possible though, to keep your milk supply up. The pump helps, but the baby is the best at stimulating supply, especially during these all important first couple of weeks. Try to get him to nurse in a variety of positions, too. Helps to empty all of the ducts. Good luck!
December 17th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
[...] Not bad, just hard. It was the first weekend with Jack and Tony. Sarah was getting over the mastitis. By the way, Did you know that something…let’s call it the dead duct…comes out of [...]
February 24th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
[...] lucky foot update. by Bryan Comer Tony went to the pediatrician last week. 2 month check up. I use the same group and had to go in for a injury. Fell and sprained my wrist. Thanks for asking. Tony’s doctor said he seemed to be doing great…and his foot looked much better… [...]
March 14th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
[...] Foot Update by Bryan Comer I took Tony and his bent up foot self to the Doctor today. We got there around 8:45…appointment at 9:00 saw the doctor at 9:20. [...]
December 31st, 2008 at 6:25 pm
My daughter is 3, and has posteromedial tibial bowing. Her x-rays were almost idential to your son’s. I had a similar time with casts etc and people telling me it’d straighten itself. By the time she was 18 months she was running around really fast but walking on her ankle with NO PART OF HER FOOT ACTUALLY ON THE GROUND. I worried about this but was told longitudinal pressures would make her leg straighten. Her foot stopped growing. We had another orthotic device which she hated and wouldn’t wear. I kept on saying surely we need something that allows her to experience what it feels like to put her foot on the floor, but allows her ankle movement. Then we put her in wellies - 2 sizes too big to allow for the bend, and the sole of the wellie was flat on the ground. Physios said it’s just an external appearance, her foot is still just as badly bent but you can’t see it in the wellie. i asked for an x-ray through the wellie, convinced it was holding her fore foot in a more normal position. they refused. Then in January last year, when she was 2, I happened to be shopping in the sales and found a pair of Clark’s boots, above ankle (mid calf) with 2 velcro straps, went up to about an inch or two above the apex of the curve. She refused to put them on. We persuaded her… she refused to take them off. when she walked the sole of the boot was flat on the ground. She wore them daily, 12 hours a day for 8 weeks… one day I took them off earlier than usual… she stood there and looked at her foot and tried to make it go flat on the ground… the degree of straightening was visible. We kept her using the boots until they were worn out, couldn’t find another pair so the Clark’s company searched the country for us, and actually gave us the only other pair they could find. in summer she saw some heeled strappy sandals… I said you can’t have them you won’t be able to walk in them. She put them on and danced, absolutely determined to put her foot flat. When i notice she’s going over now, I tell her and she takes great care to “walk properly” She still has a significant degree of bowing and will probably need straightening +/- lengthening op. I’m angry because this was a co-incidental accidental finding, and if they’d listened to me and build a shoe like i’d asked earlier we might have got more straightening sooner and her feet wouldn’t be 1 1/2 sizes different. These kind of boots are widely available in the US, get them. The orthotic will hold his foot in the same position, he needs to use it to stimulate growth and straightening not to be held in the position of the bend.
all my best hopes and wishes
Liz
January 6th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
we’ve had really good luck with our orthopedist. Now, I say that…It seems everything is going well. Tony’s foot is growing well and he walks on the bottom and not the ankle. I always hope we are doing the right thing. Taking the right course of action.
Thanks for sharing your story.