Leg cast starts to irritate Matthew

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

NEW ORLEANS (Friday, July 31, 2009) – It's been two days since Matthew received his full-leg cast – and it started to irritate him Thursday night (which led to an incredibly fitful sleep for my wife and I).

No big deal, though. As much as it is uncomfortable for Matthew today, he'll be grateful we did this for him years later down the road. Hopefully, this additional Ponsetti Method, as it's called, will be successful and avoid us from having surgery.

I don't know what will happen with his crossed eyes. Pam made an appointment with a pediatric ophthalmologist in a couple of weeks. And it looks at this point that he probably will need surgery to correct his problems.

If he doesn't, our regular ophthalmologist said, Matthew's left eye would likely not develop and he essentially would be blind in one eye.

Hey – at least it's the weekend.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Matthew to receive cast today for club foot

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

NEW ORLEANS ( Wednesday, July 29, 2009) – In just a few short minutes, I will join my wife and our son on a trip to Children's Hospital in New Orleans where he will be treated for his club foot by having his entire right leg placed in a cast.

We first saw the orthopedic pediatric specialist last week. And rather than jumping into surgery, he suggested we try to cast Matthew's right leg for two weeks, remove the cast, evaluate his status, possibly cast a second time and then decide if will need surgery.

While Matthew, who is 2, no doubt will be miserable – his leg will be bent at the knee in the cast – this is worth a try if it keeps him from going under the knife for surgery. The procedure is set for 1 p.m. today, so I'll update later today with details and photos.

Matthew and his sister, Camryn, 4, visited the ophthalmologist on Tuesday. Camryn has a lazy eye, which we all knew; Dr. Cangelosi ordered her to wear her glasses all the time every day to help develop her bad eye and give her vision from both eyes.

Matthew, we discovered, has crossed eyes and will no doubt require surgery at some point possibly this year. So while Matthew may escape surgery for his club foot (that isn't certain, however), he appears likely headed to surgery for his eyes.

Our doctor gave us the name of a pediatric ophthalmologist who specializes in this. No date has been set for a visit.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.