Clubfoot Basics: Cast Change Day

That, my friends who have NOT seen an autopsy, is a Stryker saw.  The first time they hacked into Katie's cast with that thing, I was sure we were seconds away from an arterial spurt.  I still don't know what kind of magic makes it cut through fiberglass and plaster and not slice up my kid.  

Here's Luke, checking out the stuff in Mr Rick's room upstairs.  Mr Rick has been Hannah's prosthetist for 2+ years, and now we get to work with him for Katie, too.  We went up to see him prior to cast change so we could try on the new socket he made for Katie's other leg.  

Katie was so thrilled to be there.  Not.  

Back downstairs.  There's that saw again.

This is a video of Katie's cast being cut off.  My videographer is 11, so there is a bit of a shake to it at times, but it's interesting if you've never seen it done.  

There's also a much longer vid of the new cast being put on, but I need to edit out a couple spots, and I'm not sure anyone would be interested in what is essentially a lot of wrapping, and a bit of crying as the PA and cast tech push her foot into position through the wet plaster of the under-cast.

After the new purple cast went on, we went back upstairs to try on the socket with a foot attached.

Mr Rick is going to talk to the doc and see if they can do a weight bearing cast the time after next so she can start "playing" with the idea of walking.

We see her hand surgeon next Thursday and her foot surgeon on Friday.  We should get some answers and direction with those two visits.  In a perfect world, the two docs would coordinate, and we'd have both surgeries on the same day.  We'll see how it all shakes down, though.  

Mr Rick said her prosthetic should be ready the week after those appointments.  This is vastly different from Hannah's situation, where we had to wait and wait after her surgery for everything to heal up before they could make the mold for her prosthetic.  (Surgery in February, new leg in June.)  Katie's leg will be ready and waiting when she comes out of her last cast, thank you, God!  

And that's what cast change day is like.  For us, anyway.

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