Tanner Tippy-Toe Update

Most of Tanner's physical therapy appointments have been at 11:30 am, so Tobin has been scheduling himself off on those days so he can take him.  This means that he is only at daycare for a half-day and spends the rest of the afternoon with Daddy or he takes his nap.  The appointments have gone well and Tanner is building a relationship with Jean, his therapist; they both seem to really like one another.  Last week, Tanner was fitted for his "altered shoes" which ended up being black Converse.  When she first put them on Tanner, he continued to try walking on the balls of his feet, so she added another half inch to the heel to prevent him from doing that.  He is being forced to put his body weight on his heel, rather than the balls of his feet.  He was to wear them for two hours the first day, and then add an

hour each day for one week.   Well, he didn't seem to mind the shoes at all, so he wore them four hours the first day and then closer to 9 hours each day after that!  The problem is that as soon as the shoes come off, he immediately goes up on the balls of his feet because that feels good to him.

(If you look closely, you can see the altered shoes in the picture of T and K)

Tanner wore the shoes for one week and then met with Jean to check his progress. That appointment was September 30th. She observed him in the shoes and then took the shoes off to see how he walked. Unfortunately, he walked on his tippy-toes more than ever! She measured his calves to see if they were still different lengths and to see if they have been developing correctly. Her diagnosis was to continue to wear the shoes for TWO MORE MONTHS and then see how he is doing. Apparently, some kids show progress in one week, but Tanner did not. This is going to be a process and she is still optimistic that this might work. He is to wear them as often as possible and still be checked every two weeks. If this does not get him to walk flat on his feet, our next step is that Tanner will have to be fitted for LEG BRACES!! The braces will have to be worn 24/7, meaning he can't shower for one week. He will even have to sleep in them so the braces can manually stretch his calf muscles. At the end of the first week, he will be able to bathe right before his appointment with Jean, then do the same thing all over again the next week . Three weeks total with the braces on for one week at a time, then a bath. This breaks my heart, but maybe we won't have to go there. If we do, it is only because we want the best for him and his development. I'd much rather him go through this kind of therapy when he is young and not during a tough, transitional time like middle school. Luckily, he doesn't understand and just thinks he has some cool black Chuck Taylor shoes, as Daddy calls them!