Fourth Cast

Yesterday was our fourth casting appointment. We tried to meet up with a family I had met on the Facebook clubfoot group but it didn't work out. Their little boy turns four this week and he is done with his boots and bar. It has been nice to see their journey end positively with our doctor and to see that this is just one phase in our boy's life, it does not define him. This will end one day, so until then we will work through the process with a positive attitude. 

Once again we unwrapped Icem's casts. His legs are extremely dry and the top layer is cracking. We are thinking that he most likely has a skin disorder (I use this term lightly as it is not serious, just a nuisance) that runs in my family. It is called x-linked ichthyosis and I am a carrier. I had the lab taken when I was pregnant so I would know if my children may have it. Females are carriers and males show the disorder. Basically it means that males with the disorder don't shed their skin the same way we do and need a certain type of lotion to help this process. Icem started with normal newborn shedding but after our doctor looked at his legs before casting this week, he said this degree is not normal and assumes he has the disorder. We are going to Seattle Children's dermatology department doesn't have an opening while we are down here, so we will try to get him tested for sure and find a dermatologist to ask about current lotions and treatments to make sure we are on top of it. I know it isn't a big deal, and once again there are much worse things. I just can't help but feel bad passing yet another thing onto my son. This is something he will deal with his whole life. While not serious, it will be a constant annoyance. I am just hoping it doesn't make boots and bar worse for his feet. I also can't wait to get his casts off so I can start applying lotion to his poor legs. For now they must stay dry through this phase. 

We always joke in our family about the strange things that plague us. Clubfoot is just one more strange occurrence. I am so proud of how well Icem is doing so far!

Below is a picture of his feet after taking off this week's casts. They have turned so much! His right one is tighter and likes to curl back to the inside, but they have made so much progress.

I love the time I get with his free feet and legs each week. I get to kiss them all over and hold him the way he loves to be held, with his legs tucked up under him. 

This appointment required quite a bit of stretching to Icem's feet which he didn't like. We used sugar drops along with his bottle to help calm him. His left foot is where it needs to be after this cast, but the right is still a little tight. Dr. Mosca gave us good news at the appointment. Only one more cast before his tenotomy. The nurse is going to call us this week to schedule it. It will be one of the next two Fridays. We are so excited as this is one step further in his journey and puts us back to Alaska in January!

In the picture above are his fourth set of casts. I can't believe how much his feet are turned out this time. We used Tylenol this week as he seemed more uncomfortable than usual. But today he is a happy baby :) We got in some tummy time today and his casts, then boots and bar are going to help him roll over eventually I think, they seem to give him momentum.

Thanks again for following our wild ride!