Cameron: Conquering Clubfoot

While many parents might be confused or scared if their child was diagnosed with a medical condition before birth, Samantha and Jeremy weren’t strangers to their son’s clubfoot diagnosis. They were both born with the same condition.

Samantha was 21 weeks pregnant with Cameron when a scan identified bilateral (both feet) clubfoot. While Samantha and Jeremy were familiar, they still questioned what that meant for their son.

“We had comfort in knowing that our parents went through it, and he’s going to be fine too,” Samantha says. “I knew clubfoot never held me back from anything.”

A clubfoot diagnosis

As a congenital condition, clubfoot is present at birth. The feet twist inward and downward due to tight tendons, short muscles or a combination of both. Although Cameron’s parents both had clubfoot, the condition isn’t always passed down – it’s about a 1 in 4 chance. It’s also more common in boys than girls.

When Samantha received care at Children’s Colorado as a child, the protocols were much different. Now, as the largest clubfoot program in the state, our experts wanted to ensure we managed Cameron’s clubfoot right away. Before Cameron was born, Samantha and Jeremy met with orthopedic surgeon and clubfoot specialist Margaret Siobhan Murphy-Zane, MD. Dr. Murphy-Zane provided an individualized care plan to treat Cameron’s clubfoot that included a specialized treatment option to begin right after birth.

“It was so helpful that we knew exactly what treatment looked like, what the timeline would look like and what it would cost us,” Samantha says.

Cameron’s clubfoot treatment

After a healthy birth, at just 15 days old, Cameron met Dr. Murphy-Zane to begin the Ponseti method. This treatment uses a series of casts, applied each week by an experienced cast tech, to gradually align Cameron’s feet. Each cast holds his feet in a more corrected position than the last. After 7 weekly casts, Cameron’s Achilles tendon was still too tight and required a tenotomy — a minor surgery that lengthened his tendon and a final cast that allowed the tendon to heal in the proper position.

"Cameron's family's committment to consistent bracing and doing the exercises we recommend has been key to his success," Dr. Murphy-Zane says.

While the casting realigned Cameron’s feet, he then needed a special orthosis, or brace, that has two boots and a bar connected in the middle to keep his feet from returning to their original position. For three months, Cameron wore the boots and bar for 23 hours a day. He continues to see our clubfoot team every few months, including Dr. Murphy-Zane, a specialized nurse and a physical therapist, to focus on strengthening his muscles and hopefully avoid future surgeries. Cameron should graduate from the boots entirely at 5 years old.

“The boots are a part of his routine,” Samantha says. “It became a comfort. We made it fun with books and his music box.”

Sharing clubfoot on social media

Throughout Cameron’s journey, Samatha shared on social media and created a following where she educates people about clubfoot and Cameron’s treatments. She answers questions, shows his casts and bar and talks about the importance of early intervention. She understood that showing Cameron’s clubfoot treatment is not only educational, but also a way to highlight how both she and Jeremy are thriving as adults.

"The social media following I created is a special place to see parents come together and realize that they’re not alone, and that it doesn’t need to be a big scary process,” Samantha says. "I was able to help answer questions from other parents and bring some positivity to parents looking ahead at their own child's clubfoot journey. Feeling like I was helping comfort while also educating was huge."

From their own journeys, Samantha and Jeremy know that a clubfoot diagnosis won’t stop Cameron from living life to its fullest. They want other families to know that, too. Today, Cameron loves the beach, swimming and traveling. While his feet may have needed a little extra love, he’s thriving — running and jumping on their five-acre property and getting into sports just like so many little kids do.