Annual Check-in with Dr. Nelson

Waiting to be seen... getting some math work done.

We had our first "annual" check-in with Dr. Nelson this morning.
I'll never forget last year when he said, "Looks great! Ok, we'll see you next year."
Next year?! Wow, I guess it IS looking great.
And my, how that year has flown by.
We're a little less than 2 months away from the 2 year anniversary of surgery day (the day the Taylor Spatial Frame was put on and the stretching/straightening began)... and Josiah IS doing great.

At the appointment today, Dr. Nelson (friendly and lovely as always) watched Josiah walk a little, handled his foot (checking the mobility, etc) and then said, "Wow, that foot is looking good. Let me take a few pictures) :)  Praise the Lord! I mean, I was happy with it, but to hear him feel the same, it made my heart happy. (ie. It was all worth it).

Then we discussed the right foot. Long story short, Dr. Nelson is not worried about it. He showed me that Josiah can get his heel relatively flat, and so he is not putting all his weight on the outside of his foot as I figured. It is turned some, so he doesn't necessarily "roll off" his big toe when he walks/runs, (he pushes more off the little toes) but he's not walking entirely on the outside of his foot.  In Dr. Nelson's opinion, it's  not bad enough to warrant pain & challenges of the fixator frame or even the triple arthrodesis surgery later (unless it starts to cause him problems).

Josiah & I  were relieved to hear this... No surgery necessary now or in the future unless something changes.

Dr. Nelson explained that while cosmetically speaking, we could change the foot's appearance with the fixator, it would not significantly improve functionality. He said, "If he were my son, I'd leave it alone." So we will! :)

My boy can run, jump, climb and play. Can't ask for more than that. Glory to God.

Whoops, I forgot to update! 1 year & 5 months later...

It's been 1 year and 5 months since Josiah had his cast removed after the Taylor-Spatial-Frame procedure.  June 21 will be 2 years from beginning the process.
He is running, jumping, and playing with no problems, praise God!
Here he is running to first base after a base hit on Saturday:

His foot is still pretty straight, as you can see in the pics below, especially when compared with the uncorrected right foot.
He never complains of pain with his left foot. It's usually the right he'll complain about in certain shoes (because its shape) and when we're walking long distances, he'll sometimes say his feet are sore.
He is slower than other kids his age, but I think that is due to the typical underdeveloped calf muscles of clubfeet kids and the flat joints in his feet that limit dorsiflexion.
We are happy with the results thus far from the TSF... and it seems like a distant memory even while his scars remind us daily of what he's been through.

We will see Dr. Nelson on April 29th, and I am looking forward to the appointment, both to show him how well he's doing, and to ask him about that right foot again. The way he walks on it... how he bears weight on it... I'm worried that it will cause ankle, knee, and hip pain in the future since he puts all the weight on the outside of his foot.
Before, we had discussed doing the TSF on it sometime in the near future, or waiting until Josiah is closer to an adult to do a Triple Arthrodesis. This more invasive operation fuses 3 of his foot bones together to stop it from turning in. The question remains--- what would be better? To endure the 6 month TSF process again, along with all it's difficulties, or wait until he's grown and do the more invasive surgery that will limit his flexibility even more?
I'm leaning toward the TSF just because it doesn't involve cutting tendons, cutting or fusing bones, and not even cutting open the body at all. Of course, it's "pierced" with the pins of the TSF, but it's still a more gentle fix than the arthrodesis.

Prayers for discernment are appreciated. :)