Friday we made our way to Dr Fluffy Unicorn for a checkup, our first in almost a year, 10 months to be exact. I had some concerns going in, I made Sporty wear her old sneakers so he could see her wear on them. There was no wear on the sides so I wasn’t concerned with a relapse per se but I had seen her left foot twitching in while she ran and based on the wear on her shoes and what I’ve seen, she’s doing a lot of toe walking.

It was an emotional visit to say the least. We had to tell Dr Fluffy Unicorn that we’re moving to Phoenix next month, though we fully intend to travel back to continue his care with Sporty. Poppa Bear and I both agree at this point there is no one we’d trust with her feet other than Dr Fluffy Unicorn. Sporty also signed a softball that read “Clubfeet can’t stop me from doing what I dream to do, thanks to you.” She gave this to him along with a picture of her catching in the hopes that he can show it to other Clubfoot families and give them hope that their Clubfoot family member will life their best life ever. This got the waterworks flowing, we had a full house in our room too. She also showed him our Clubfoot day video. Dr Fluffy Unicorn couldn’t believe how hard she hit the ball in one of them clips in the video. They definitely have a mutual respect for each other.

On a less positive note, Sporty is doing too much toe walking. Her Achilles are fine, he could push on them and they had bounce so they’re not the problem but her stiffness is in her ankles so after much discussion and debate, we’re going to try a Dynasplint which will provide flex while she sleeps and hopefully give her enough flexibility that solves some of our issues. I googled the brace and she’s going to hate them. But it beats a cast and definitely beats another surgical procedure and she can wear th and still play softball and soccer during the day and stretch them feet at night. The issue isn’t horrible but like I told Dr Fluffy Unicorn, she’s living her best life, she’s able to do all of the things she loves, she can play 3 softball games a day, 2 days in a row, catching 2 innings a game and walk away pain free and to me, this means we’ve been successful in what we set out to do with her but if I can give her one more thing to make her future pain free and let her keep enjoying life, then let’s do it. So we’re awaiting brace delivery. And the good news about trying the brace, we’re back in 6 months so all of our Bay Area friends can prepare for a December 14 visit!