Three years ago

X-Man on his birthday - pre-casts

Pre-casts, he was one or two days old

X-Man and his first set of casts, three days old

So sitting here, I just realized that exactly three years ago, X-Man got his first set of casts. I remember him being so tough. He was only three days old and was already the love of my life. I remember trying so hard not to cry while they put his casts on, but I couldn't hold back tears. I remember putting his clothes back on, trying to be careful with his new casts. I remember feeling the warmth of his casts and panicking, thinking that they were burning his legs. I remember calling my mom from the car, I was sitting in the backseat, to X-Man's right, I remember exactly where on interstate 71 that we were. And I remember sobbing, telling her that my sweet tiny boy had huge heavy casts all the way up his legs. I remember just wanting my mom and dad. I never felt more like a child in that moment. But also in that moment, I realized that ready or not, I was an adult and was responsible with the most beautiful child I had ever seen.

I teared up a little bit thinking back to that moment. But I wouldn't change it for the world. It was one of the most difficult, yet most wonderful moments of my life. And the past three years have been (hands down) the best years of my life. My X-Man continues to bless me everyday, he really is a tough, amazing guy. I don't know that many other children would do as well as he has with everything.

We really do have an easy life compared to so many people; we feel incredibly blessed to have two smart, kind, healthy children. Clubfoot has become a normal thing to our X-Man. He's not embarrassed, and neither are we. When people come to our house, he loves to show them his "cool, blue casts" and his new "magic shoes". On Wednesday, X-Man gets his last set of casts removed here in town. We've been telling him each day how many days until his casts are removed. Last night, as we were getting ready for bed, we told him "three more days until you get your casts off!" and he said "no, we leave my casts on!". He actually likes his casts!

When his casts are removed, he'll start wearing the Mitchell/Ponseti boots and bar 18 hours a day. It seems daunting and I was a little worried about his mobility. Then, I remembered that's what I was worried about when we started casting. Luckily, his casts haven't held him back, and I wouldn't be surprised in the least if his braces met the same fate.

The past three years have been filled with so much love and amazement. I'm looking forward to the next three years; but for now, we'll enjoy one day at a time.