Beau's First Cast

Okay, so here's the update you've probably been wondering about. Beau got his first cast on Friday. Yep, that's right, I said cast, singular, because it turns out that only one of his feet needs the cast, and the other one is fine. The first thing the nurse did when we got to the appointment was rate his feet. She looked at six different things, like the crease above his heal, the crease in the middle of the foot, the line of the outside of the foot (is it straight or curved), the rigidity of his ankle, etc., and all of these things together told her how severe the club foot-ness was. So on a scale of 1 to 6, 6 being severe, Beau's left foot was a 4.5, and his right foot was really low, like a 1 or 2. He'll need anywhere from four to six weeks of casts on his left foot, followed by the surgery to cut his tendon and then three more weeks of casts, and then he'll be in his "magic shoes".

So you might be wondering how he enjoyed the whole process, and...well...he hated it. He screamed bloody murder the whole time they were casting him and then fell into a much needed sleep as they finished up the cast. The rest of the day he was either sleeping or crying or nursing. Finally the next afternoon (Saturday, yesterday) he had about 20 minutes of being awake and happy and that's when I finally let out a deep breath and realized we'd be okay. And today he seems fine and back on his regular schedule. So he gets his next cast on Wednesday and I wonder if we'll go through the same thing all over again or if it will get better or worse. I don't think he's necessarily in pain, but I think I'd compare it to having braces on your teeth and getting them tightened. It doesn't feel good for the first little while, and then you adjust and it's okay. Plus the cast weighs a lot and he can't stretch that leg out, and I'd imagine it'd feel a little claustrophobic.

Anyways, I am so grateful that it's just one cast and that he seems to be doing okay. I'm coming up with ideas of things to tell those inquisitive people who ask me what happened to my baby's leg. "Skiing accident." "Skateboarding." You'll have to let me know if you think of anything good.
I hope you enjoy the slideshow. I'm not really a fan of slideshows, but it was the only way to show the whole process of how they put on his cast. Thanks to my mom for taking all the pictures. I didn't put it to music, but you can just imagine a baby screaming the whole time, and that will really bring it to life. :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow Of course I had to draw on his cast...A blank canvas! I just couldn't help myself!