A MOTHER is reaching out to others in West Devon who are coping with the stress and emotional pressure of having a child with a club foot, to let them know that support is available.

Kate Reed from Tavistock has spent the last two years caring for her son Robin, who was born with a club foot (Congenital Talipes Equinovarus).

Kate said it was a lonely time during Robin's treatments and she wished she had someone who had been in a similar situation to reassure her.

Kate said: 'Robin was an IVF baby and at our 20-week scan we found out he had a club foot. We were told at the scan that it could mean there are other problems like cerebral palsy or brain damage. We were offered to either have an abortion or to have further tests which could have risked a miscarriage so we decided just to leave it.'

When Robin was born, he had no problems other than the club foot. The treatments started when he was only six weeks old.

'He had to have a plaster cast — it was a very stressful time because he had to be pinned down to put it on. The cast had to be changed weekly and because of the cast we couldn't bath him until the weekly trip to the hospital.'

Robin then had a Tenotomy, an operation to cut the achilles tendon, which meant he had to have his foot in plaster for a further two weeks. Following the successful operation, he was given his first corrective boot to wear at eight weeks old.

'For three months he had to wear the boot for 23 hours a day and only had an hour off a day. That hour went so fast. You have to keep tightening the buckles on the boot, and it kept slipping off at night. It was hard because my husband works away so I had to go through most of it on my own.'

Robin's treatment is called the Ponseti method and Kate said she could see it was working but she had problems with the boot:?'He started getting problems, he got a pressure sore on his heel because he wasn't moving his foot in the night. It got really bad so I took him to the hospital and he had to come out of the boot for two weeks. I panicked because I thought the break would mean that the overall treatment wouldn't work.'

She added her appreciation of the team at Derriford Hospital —Robin's orthopaedic consultant Mr Jeffery, physios Faye Nightingale and Michelle and orthotist Gary Parfett. 'We couldnt have got through the difficult "boot" times without them,' said Kate.

Once the sore was sorted, Robin was back into his boot but Kate spent sleepless nights worrying. He developed another sore on the top of his foot when he was about a year old.

Robin has now switched to a different type of boot which is working out much better for him. Kate said that hopefully he would only need the boots until he is about five years old.

Kate received support from the national charity Steps but is keen for families in similar situations to support each other: 'I know how difficult it is. I would love for people to contact each other. I never had anyone to support me and I want to make other people aware that there are people that can help. I know there is a high incidence of club foot in the Devon area and I think families could really support each other.'

Kate is keen to get families to contact each other for support, especially as Ponseti awareness week is approaching (October 13 to 20). She has left brochures about Steps at Tavistock Library for anyone who wants to find out more about the charity, and is happy for anyone who would like to contact her for support to do so by emailing [email protected]">[email protected]

For more information about Steps visit http://www.steps-charity.org.uk">www.steps-charity.org.uk