Corrective Foot Surgery

I got you all caught up on Henry's medical journey over the last few years since my last post and there is more this past year! Shocker, right?? 

Overall, Henry's been amazing the last couple of years. He's more content, he's interacting, he's laughing, smiling, reaching, exploring and just happier! He LOVES to just chill in his bed and listen to music, movies, or talk with his angels, who I'm pretty sure tell him jokes to make him laugh all the time! 

I mentioned before that we had a doctor that was going to do Henry's foot surgery, but a less invasive procedure and then it got cancelled two days before. I've said it was a God thing and while I was extremely nervous about him having such a major surgery, I knew he needed it to have a chance at standing or using adaptive equipment to move around. 

For reference, this is how his feet used to look. Completely turned in with some stretch, but very difficult to get into a 'regular' position to even get his orthotics on to be able to stand or sit comfortably in his chair. 

We met with the Orthopedic doctor again and went through the surgery. He believed it needed to be pretty invasive to work and be a long lasting 'fix'. I was still pretty hesitant, but I do trust this doctor and got the peace of mind I needed in talking to him again. He ended up having to cut tendons and move ligaments to straighten his feet. Initially we thought he would be casted below the knee, but after the surgery we found out he was casted up to his thighs! His knees were slightly bent, but with the weight of the casts, he really couldn't move his legs. And for this kid, that was rough! He is always kicking and moving his legs and I felt so bad he couldn't do that anymore!

He had the surgery at the end of July 2024 and was in casts for about 8 weeks. He was in the bigger casts for about 4ish weeks and was re-casted just to his calves for another 3-4 weeks. That time is a blur for me, but he took it like a champ! He did amazing and adapted so well. Me on the other hand, I was in survival mode, as I feel I usually am with this child LOL.

 

He can't communicate if he was itchy or uncomfortable or even sore. After the first cast removal, his incisions were gnarly! I couldn't imagine how that felt for him! And not being able to stretch your legs or feet!

We had to figure out different ways to carry him and bath him. He was not able to be fully submerged and so we had to get creative! I was able to find these cast covers that keep them dry, so we put his bath chair in the shower, put on his cast covers and gave him showers instead! 

Thankfully over the last couple of years, he has been so much better about being on his back! For years he would scream if he was on his back and would only sleep on his stomach. So glad he started feeling better in different sleeping positions! Think about casts up to your thighs and your knees bent for 4 weeks! We got creative again and got blankets to help elevate and get him comfortable. 

His sweet little legs got so small! After the final casts came off, he had little bird legs. Scaly and thin! I found this cream that did wonders for getting him hydrated and back to normal for his legs. 

Thankfully, the surgery all went great and successful! It was so weird seeing him with 'normal' feet and not turned completely in! 

Looking back and these pictures, it's hard seeing him so small. After his foot surgery, he started refusing to eat and drink. It was a struggle to get anything down and it really took a toll on him. He literally stopped his Paci cold turkey after this surgery! This was the beginning of his G-tube journey. Henry wasn't thriving as he should for years, but everyone just thought he was developmentally delayed and he was just slower in his growth. 

You don't know what you don't know, right? He was eating and drinking milk. He refused when he was done and that was all we knew to be doing. There were no major concerns at that point, but after this surgery, he needed an intervention and it was a game changer!!

Very thankful for his ortho doc and the amazing job he did on Henry's feet! He's able to be back in his stander and weight bare in therapies. I'm very glad we went through with it and am so happy with the results.