Name : Britni (Carolyn, mother)
E-mail : britni_hamer@hotmail.com
Child: 16 years old
Location: Dartmouth NS, Canada
Area(s) affected: Right foot and leg
Personal History:
I was two when I was diagnosed at the Halifax IWK. My parents and I were at the grocery store and I was complaining that my foot hurt and when my parents looked at my foot, my big toe was hard, swollen and hard to move. My foot was always the problem; my leg never bothered me. I got send to orthopaedics at the IWK. I had the same orthopaedic doctor for 4-6 years; he was only going to look at surgery as a last choice. I went for x-rays of my foot and leg every six months, as well as a CAT scan and an MRI to assure that it wasn’t spreading to my shin. I went to physiotherapy every week for many years; my physiotherapist noticed that my plantar fascia was tense and was causing a great deal of pain. They tried different exercise to loosen the tendons and try to improve movement in my big toe, acupuncture, hot wax and message. Nothing really helped; surgery was then looked at. I had my first surgery in April 2006 when I was in grade 6. They cut the plantar fascia to try to improve movement and reduce pain; it worked for a period of time but the tendon tensed back up and movement became difficult again. Shortly after this surgery my original orthopedic specialist left the IWK and I was assigned to a new specialist in the department. He looked at surgery right away; he felt it was the only option we had. My next and last surgery was in August 2008 when I was about to start grade 8. The surgery was much more extensive and painful then the first. He cut tendons in both the top and bottom of my foot as well as took slivers of bone out of my big toe to try to improve movement. This was a very painful surgery and did not help or change anything. I am now in grade 11; my toe still does not have very good movement, my plantar fascia is still tense and there is still pain in both my toe and foot. I am no longer allowed to go to the IWK as far as I know because I am now too old so as of the moment I have no specific doctor that my parents and I are aware of.