A Clubfoot Mom

This is an extra special follow up episode as we hear from Aaron, a clubfoot cutie, about his experience of clubfoot relapse and its treatment. Aaron is a spirited and fun loving boy who is kind enough to share with everyone his clubfoot journey. Anjie and Aaron also talk about fundraising for Hope Walks, and how Aaron came up with the idea and the fun things he does to raise funds for kids who ne...

Anjie England is mom to Aaron, a clubfoot kiddo who experienced a relapse and treatment. Anjie talks about her experience hearing about Aaron's relapse, determining when to do treatment, and what their travel experience was like. Anjie is an incredible mom and advocate for her son, and her story is one that I really connected with. You have heard from Surgeons about relapse, and Lindsay about the...

This episode is a call for submissions from clubfoot parents for the Clubfoot Anthology Betsy Miller and I are working on. I give the background for inception of the project, how Betsy Miller came up with the idea for the Clubfoot Anthology, how I got looped in, and what our goals are for the project. We want your voices to be heard. Submissions are accepted through September 2022 click this link...

In the first return visit to the podcast, Lindsay Loring gives us an update about her daughter and her current treatment plan. Lindsay was one of the very first guests on the podcast, where we talked about sleep tips for clubfoot cuties, and she shared her daughter's clubfoot story. A lot has happened since that episode was published, and Lindsay has so graciously offered to share the story of her...

When your cutie enters BnB it can be hard to imagine the next 4/5 years of brace wear. Thinking about keeping your toddler from trying to remove their boots while you are sleeping can be overwhelming. In this episode I talk about what we have done to try and keep our Cutie from messing around and removing her boots at night. I won't pretend to know all the answers, but will tell you what I think h...

Bernie Landels is a certified infant massage instructor and author of the book, "Finding Their Feet" and in this episode we discuss how important feet are in to the developing infant brain. I am thrilled to bring you this episode because Bernie is so passionate about feet. Bernie talks about ways that parents can help stimulate the feet for continued development during casting and BnB phases of tr...

In this episode I talk about why establishing a bedtime routine early on in your cutie's treatment can have long term benefits. I give details about how we established our own cutie's bedtime routine from the onset of her 23 hour BnB wear and how we have adapted it as she grew. I credit a lot of our cutie's compliance with the BnB to the routine we have created because she knows what to expect eve...

This episode features a conversation with Julie Rose is the Co-Chair for the Family Centered Care Advisory Council at The Hospital for Sick Children. When I heard Julie on a different podcast telling her personal story and talking about her experience with Family Centered Care, I knew I had to hear more. Thankfully, Julie agreed to talk to us about the importance of including the parents in any pe...

In this episode I talk about how we handled the nighttime challenges of potty training with the BnB. This wasn't a huge challenge for us with our daughter, so I talk about the things I thought made in successful in the hopes that it will help you find your own path to success with your cutie.

Dr. Steven Frick, Chief of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital/Stanford, Professor and Vice Chair of Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, talks about his personal experience of having a child born with clubfoot and how that lead to a passion for treating clubfoot as an surgeon. Dr. Frick discusses how he manages parent's expec...

In this extra special episode, I talk with my oldest daughter, Addie, about her experience having a little sister with clubfoot. Addie is a very special kid, who is supremely kind, and has an incredible ability to speak about her experience at the young age of 9. Addie loves to perform and speak in front of others and is super excited to share her story with you. We talk about what it is like to h...

In honor of World Clubfoot Day on June 3rd, this episode is dedicated to all the clubfoot moms past, present, and future. I feel so strongly about the vital role clubfoot parents played in the rise of the Ponseti Method that the afterword of Clubfoot Chronicles is all about them. I am eternally grateful to the clubfoot moms who came before me, for the clubfoot moms I have found community in, and f...

Lori Howard is not only a clubfoot mom and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist but she is the mother of the incomparable, and previous guest, Chloe Howard. If you listened to Chole's episode, you know that I just had to meet the mom behind this amazing clubfoot advocate and speaker. Lori and I discuss the grief and loss parents can feel when hearing a diagnosis that changes the expectations o...

Dr. Mitzi Williams is a Pediatric Foot and Lower Extremity Surgeon and Co-director of the Pediatric and Infant Foot Deformity Clinic at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, and the author of two children's books about clubfoot, My Boots and the to be released, My Big Boots. Dr. Williams and I have a great conversation about how important the relationship between the clubfoot treatment provide...

Erin Norton is an inspiring clubfoot mom who talks about her journey of finding out about her son's clubfoot diagnosis one day after her husband was deployed. She talks about how challenging it was to process the diagnosis without her main support person, how she handled the casting phase of treatment on her own, and how incredible it felt when her husband returned home just in time for the transi...

You have probably noticed that I like to end my interview podcasts by asking about special moments people have experienced on the clubfoot journey. This episode is a deeper look into why I love to hear the answer to that question and how focusing on simple moments has helped me stay present and grateful in my life and my daughter's clubfoot treatment journey.

In this episode I speak with Lindsay Easley, a clubfoot mom who has faced many challenges with her cutie throughout treatment. Lindsay talks openly about the struggles and triumphs they have faced together. She talks about the reasons that lead her to switch treatment teams, and how a Child Life Specialist at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital provided her with a safe place to express her fears and deve...

Dr. Kenneth Noonan, Chief of Pediatric Orthopaedics at the American Family Children’s Hospital, discusses clubfoot relapse, and explains why he prefers the term residual deformity to relapse. Dr. Noonan explains why and how residual deformities occur, how he treats them, and if it is possible for parents to help prevent it. Dr. Noonan then answers questions that came specifically from the listener...

I am excited to share this episode because it is something I have wanted to do from the moment my cutie was diagnosed with clubfoot, start a support group. In this episode I talk about why I wanted to start a group, why We Are Brave Together was the perfect organization to partner with, and what my hopes for the group are. I go into a bit of detail about the purpose of the group, to help create a...

Dr. Derek Kelly, Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon at Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics, discusses all things clubfoot diagnosis and treatment on this episode. Dr. Kelly goes into great detail about the technical medical aspects of a a clubfoot diagnosis in a way that can be easily understood by parents. We discuss the ins and outs of how and why the Ponseti method of treatment work, and the historical inf...

Chloe Howard is an author, speaker, clubfoot advocate, and Junior at Westmont College in CA and is the first guest to be on the podcast who was born with clubfoot. Chloe and I have an in depth conversation about what it was like for her growing up, the hate crime she experienced and preserved through, and how her parents supported her throughout her journey. Chole is the author of a memoir, Standi...

In this episode, I have a conversation with Danika Baskar, a future Orthopaedic Surgeon, about her Research Fellowship at the Stanford Division of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery under Dr. Steven Frick. Danika talks about the different research studies focused on congenital clubfoot during her fellowship and how the information from those studies can help clubfoot families in the future. One of thos...

In this episode I talk about the products that we have used and loved during our Cutie's clubfoot treatment. I polled the Instagram community about what they want to hear in the podcast and product recommendations was a top suggested topic, so here it is. I talk about different products we used during the different phases of treatment, casting, BnB transition, and sleep. I go into detail about why...

In this episode I have the opportunity to speak with Jill Harold, a clubfoot mom, the co-author of the children's book Hip. Hop, Hooray for Brooklyn, and clubfoot advocate. Jill is an active and engaging member of the clubfoot community who was there at the beginning of the social media groups created for clubfoot support. Jill talks about her experience with her daughter, where she is now, and wh...

In this episode I talk about how we have started to have the conversation with our cutie about her clubfoot. We have been waiting until she was developmentally ready and she started asking questions about it. Our cutie is almost 4 years old and while she knew that she had to wear her BnB every night, she never really understood why. One of my upcoming guests made me realize that she might be ready...